Sword of Origin: Protector of Zero
by WhizkidHV
Summary: He had protected them, saved them. A Sword that ruthlessly cut down all who would dare harm them. But time passed, as well as those he was to protect. He thought that his time had finally come, but it seemed that Fate had other plans. With a girl whose heart was made of glass as a Master and a new War, the Sword recalls his Origin. 'To Protect...'
1. Sword of Origin: Zero

Sword of Origin: Zero

The Sword opened his eyes. _Strange._ The nuclear strike should have ended him. How was he still alive after standing at ground zero?

He shook his head. _Irrelevant._ He was alive, despite expecting it to be the end of his long existence. _It seems that He has plans for me yet._

He was standing in an open field with a castle in the distance. Smoke shrouded the immediate surroundings, but with his 'Eyes of Perception', the Sword could see through it.

The Sword realized that he wasn't alone.

Children. They wore clothing similar to that of wizards and witches in the games Taiga and Ilya enjoyed playing, namely robes and wands. Odd, but then he had seen odder garments among the Clock Tower nobles.

_Irrelevant._ The Sword discarded that line of thought in favor of determining the situation. His final memory had been standing below a nuclear war head followed by a flash of bright light.

How had he arrived in this area, one that was the antithesis of nuclear fallout? And what was the foreign pulse of energy that he could feel coursing through his veins?

The smoke cleared.

The crowd of children noticed his presence and began speaking all at once.

A name, and the name of a spell was repeated in the chatter. Louise and Summon Servant.

_It seems that I was summoned then._ And from that, it seemed that he was dead after all. _This foreign presence in my system… yes. That must be it._ The bond between him and his Master.

He realized that a girl stood before him. Petite, with blonde hair tinted pink. Eyes the color of garnets or amber.

At first, he took her as another in the crowd of children, but now that he focused he realized that it was she the bond led to.

The girl took one look at him and frowned, an expression hinting at depths further than disappointment. She turned around to the crowd behind her and said, "Mr. Colbert!"

At her call, the crowd parted to reveal a seemingly harmless man, balding and middle-aged, who walked forward.

-A façade.

The man was a warrior, one every bit as skilled as the best of the Enforcers that the Sword once faced in his battle against the Clock Tower.

Like the children, the man wore a black robe, but unlike them he carried a heavy wooden staff rather than a wand.

The Sword's eyes flashed gold, and then he understood the nature of the man's power.

Fire. Though able to manipulate other elements, the warrior that approached carried an alignment towards fire, and possessed enough skill with that element to harm a weak Servant. Impressive for a human.

The Sword acknowledged the man as the threat he was. Not one that ranked enough to end him, but perhaps wound him.

"What is it, Ms. Valliere?" Matching his façade, the voice spoken was that of an educated gentleman. He sounded slightly annoyed, but other than that there was no hostility.

"Please! Allow me another try at summoning my familiar!"

The Sword frowned. He saw no signs of a catalyst, so that meant he was the one most suited to his Master. Yet, she seemed disappointed.

He resisted the urge to let out a weary sigh. _Even now, those I protect do not wish for it._

Mr. Colbert shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Ms. Valliere. As I explained at the start of our session, you must summon a familiar upon your graduation to second year. Not only does the familiar you summon determine your elemental specialty, but the Springtime Familiar Summoning is a sacred rite that students must accomplish to progress in their studies."

Left unsaid was the fact that attempting it again would be blasphemous.

The girl in front of the Sword looked crest-fallen, but made another attempt. "But he's a commoner! I've never heard of anyone having a _commoner_ as a familiar! Please, just allow me one more try, Mr. Colbert!"

After hearing the exchange, the Sword tilted his head and revised his analysis of the situation.

While the girl was indeed his Master, it looked like he was not summoned to participate in the Holy Grail War, like Emiya Shirou had. Instead, it appeared that his summoning was a sort of Origin and Alignment test.

If he understood correctly, that meant his Master should have one suited to a being like himself. In other words, she should possess a power rivaling the Creator.

_How interesting._

Mr. Colbert sighed. "I am sorry, Ms. Valliere, but there can be no exceptions. You_ must_ have him as your familiar, whether you want it or not." He put a hand to his chin. "Though there are no records of a human summoned as a familiar in the Springtime Familiar Summoning, the rules remain the same: those going into their second year of schooling must summon a familiar and complete the ritual. I would have allowed another attempt had you failed, but you have indeed summoned a familiar, as strange as the circumstances may be."

The girl slumped. "…I understand, Mr. Colbert." She turned back to the Sword.

For a brief moment, the Sword caught a glimpse of utter defeat on her face, but it was quickly replaced by a haughty expression. "Kneel."

He remained standing and contemplated the girl in front of him, the one who was now his Master.

Her expression and that shift. He had seen it before on others that he had known. It was a defense mechanism, one adopted by those who had none to protect them, who faced the world alone.

"Didn't you hear me, familiar?! I said kneel!"

A forceful command, but the Sword could feel the fragility in those words.

"Oh?" One of the children spoke. An average sort of person with brown hair and matching eyes. "It looks like Louise didn't just summon a commoner, she summoned an idiot!"

The jeers began with that one statement.

"Louise the Zero!"

"Failure!"

"You should just give up on magic now, Zero!"

Louise. That was the name of the girl before him. That was the name of his Master.

That was the name of the one he needed to protect.

She was facing him. Because of that, he could see the truth that she was desperately trying to restrain.

Unshed tears shimmered in the corners of her eyes. Her lips quivered despite her attempts to keep them in a firm line. And her right arm, clutching her wand, trembled as she raised it to cast her spell.

A girl who put on a brave face, but was truthfully as fragile as glass. That was the nature of his Master.

For a brief moment, the Sword considered what his Master must have gone through to become the girl before him, who tried and failed to her glass heart with a steely visage.

In the next he decided it didn't matter.

The Sword didn't move, and yet the insults and jeers from the students behind his Master stopped in an instant.

The reason for that would be the thousands of swords appearing in the air behind him, each pointed at a student in the crowd.

Seeing that the crowd had gone silent, the Sword knelt on the ground before his master, a calm smile on his face. He gave her a gentle pat on the head, as he used to do for Ilya and the children of those He had given his life for.

* * *

Louise stared at the person she had summoned and gaped at the sight of the blades floating in the air behind him.

A Noble. She had summoned a Noble.

From the sudden appearance of those blades, he had to be a Square class mage, probably Earth-Earth-Earth-Wind.

Just the thought of it made her feel faint. She wanted to run from the spot. Not only had she messed up the summoning ritual, the one spell that she thought she succeeded in casting, but she'd messed it up to the extent that the restrictions against summoning other Nobles had been broken.

She thought he was just a commoner when he had appeared. Sure, his white long-coat and silver plate mail were of fine make, but it was something that mercenaries donned, not Mages.

His startling silver eyes and matching colored hair were strange, but not too strange considering the varied hair and eye colors that could be found in Halkeginia.

So Louise thought she summoned a commoner. But what he had just done. That was something no commoner could have ever hoped of faking.

When he turned his eyes on her, Louise couldn't help but flinch. The expression on the man's face reminded her all too much of the one she had seen on her mother, that look of cool anger promising not rage but wrath.

And then it softened and he knelt before her with a calm smile and said, "Do not worry, Master."

The voice was soft, and yet lacking. Just a touch more emphatic than a golem's, yet far from being human. Even so, she could sense the sincerity in those words.

"From now on, this Sword shall protect you."

He spoke the words with such conviction that all Louise could do was nod and complete the ritual.

With a wave of her wand, a brief incantation, and a swift brush of their lips, it was over.

* * *

The Sword felt a stab of pain in his chest as the foreign energy gathered there. The stab of pain quickly elevated to the level of a searing burn, but he didn't allow that to show on his face.

The crowd was quiet, watching him and his swords with either wide-eyed or fearful expressions. In most cases, it was both.

But then the pain was over, and Mr. Colbert approached the new Master and Servant pair.

Sensing hostility from the warrior, the Sword allowed his blades to return to his inner world.

The moment he did, Mr. Colbert relaxed, a smile on his face, and turned to Louise. "Congratulations, Ms. Valliere."

She gave him a short nod in reply, an unreadable expression on her face.

Mr. Colbert turned back to the crowd and said, "Well, let's return to class. Come students. And do remember to keep your opinions to yourself."

His last statement would have been admirable, if not for the necessity of the Sword using his blades to prompt it.

The Sword watched them leave with mild interest, especially when they did it by flying.

And then it was just him and his Master.

Louise was quiet, lost in thought.

The Sword respected her silence and did not speak.

Eventually, she said, "Who are you?"

He smiled. "I am the Sword of Akasha, Master. I will protect you, for now and for always."

Louise frowned, turning that over in her mind, but then shook her head. "No, I meant your actual name, not your runic one."

"Ah." The Sword's expression faltered, and his calm smiled turned to a bitter one. "…I have no name, but this person was once known as Emiya Shirou, Master. Does that answer your question?"

Louise's frown deepened. "I see." She nodded. "Emiya, then. You might be my familiar, but I can't go around treating a Noble like an object now, can I?"

Louise sighed and started walking towards the castle. "Come, Emiya. We may discuss our… partnership on the walk back."

Another sigh, and then she said, "I hope mother won't see this as too much of a scandal…"

"As you wish, Master."

* * *

This is the Tiger Dojo. Take the advice?

Note. Tiger Dojo is a strange hint corner. If you would like to complete the story by yourself, or if you would like to keep the characters' images, please be warned.

1\. Yes

2\. No

* * *

Tiger Dojo

The scene is the Emiya Dojo. Upon arriving, a voice echoed.

"Yosh!"

Taiga, dressed in a white kimono and black hakama, clapped her hands together. "I bet you weren't expecting this now, were you Readers?"

"Hi everyone!" Ilya, dressed in a white t-shirt and purple bloomers, waved. "Osu! Welcome to the first Tiger Dojo of 'A Different Path'!"

"Yes, yes. Good job student." Taiga nodded. "Now, Readers, you're probably wondering what happened here, or why this wasn't in the main story."

"Yeah," Ilya said. "What's going on, Sensei? Shouldn't this be in the other story?"

The boisterous brown-haired woman nodded. "Yes. Yes it should. But the path leading to this ending hasn't occurred yet, so the Wizard can't show it yet."

"Oh, I see! So you mean that this Onii-chan is from one of those three endings where-"

"O-oi, Ilya!" Taiga ran up to Ilya and clamped a hand over her mouth. "You can't say that! Any more and the Wizard will do something to you that even the Third Magic can't fix!"

Ilya nodded, making Taiga back off, and then frowned. "Hey, how do you know about that?"

"Teehee." Taiga grinned. "This is the Tiger Dojo! I know _everything_! Like how Shirou has to-"

This time Ilya clamped Taiga's mouth shut. "Hypocrite! Don't say anything else!"

"Mmph! Mmph!" Taiga nodded, and Ilya stepped back.

"Phew. That was scary, Ilya-chan." She looked at Ilya with wide-eyes. "you went straight for my throat."

"Wait," Ilya said. "Don't we have to tell the Readers how this story happened? Won't that mean we have to tell how 'that' path ends?"

Taiga froze. "That's right…"

For a moment, the two looked at the dojo's door with fearful eyes, as if it would open any moment to reveal a demon.

"…Well, it looks like he won't smite us," Taiga said.

"Yeah. Looks like the Wizard's accepted this outcome after all."

"Well, Readers. Since we've gotten the okay from the Wizard, let's get into the meat of this story!" Taiga clapped. "So, you're probably wondering what's wrong with Shirou here."

"Un." Ilya nodded. "Onii-chan's acting really weird. And why is he calling himself the 'Sword'? Even Archer didn't act like that when he was being a Hero."

"Well, pupil number one. The reason for that's simple. It's not Shirou."

"Eeh?! B-but he's Onii-chan!" Ilya frowned. "I mean, he looks a lot like Archer, but he's Onii-chan, right?"

Taiga sighed. "That idiot did something stupidly noble in 'that' path. Since his Magic lets him act like God, when he used its full power he had to 'become' God. The soul of Emiya Shirou left the body, and what's left is just a Sword that wields itself in the name of the one it once was."

There was a moment of silence.

"Idiot." Ilya clenched her hands to her side, red eyes blurred with tears.

"I know. Idiot."

"…So then this Onii-chan isn't really Onii-chan, Sensei?"

"Un." Taiga nodded. "This 'Sword' has Shirou's memories and desires, but he's not the same person. He's like how that idiot was when Kiritsugu first found him."

"Wait," Ilya said. "So does that mean he can become someone like Shirou used to be?"

"Oho, you're quite smart, aren't you my pupil? Yes, he will, especially with those runes he got. He's not the 'Left hand of God', but the 'Heart of God'."

Ilya smiled. "Then he'll get a happy ending, won't he? He's not just a sword, right?"

"Well," Taiga said. "Who knows?"

"Mou- that's not fair, Sensei! You're leaving the Readers here in suspense!"

Taiga sighed. "I know, but the Wizard's saying that we've said enough." She shivered. "And he said that he'd make Shirou leave me in that hospital until the end of the story if I say anything else."

Ilya frowned. "Tyranny! I won't let this0"

A note card appeared in front of her. "What's this?"

'If you keep talking, I'll make Archer die protecting you.'

Ilya froze and then turned towards the front with a thin smile. "Well, that's all for this Tiger Dojo!"

Taiga gave a stiff nod. "Until next time, Readers! Try to keep Shirou out of trouble! And don't let him make a heroic sacrifice in A Different Path to bring-"

The door slammed shut, and the dojo faded back into the darkness from which it came.

End Tiger Dojo


	2. Sword of Origin: Reason

_**Sword of Origin: Reason**_

Louise frowned in thought. She and Emiya Shirou, the silver-haired man he had summoned, were walking along the open plains back to Tristain Academy. It hadn't been long since the Springtime Familiar Summoning, and the pair were making their way back to Louise's dorm.

Emiya had been silent since they began walking, keeping stride with her on her left side. After a while, Louise realized that he had no intention of talking, and decided to ignore the pit in her stomach from summoning a Noble and said, "So you're my familiar."

"It would appear so, Master." Emiya's words were soft, and slightly flat.

Louise waited for him to elaborate, but again it seemed the silver-haired man had no intention of speaking. Instead, Emiya was scanning the surroundings, his silver eyes flashing gold every now and then as sunlight reached it. At least, that's what she thought was happening.

She shrank into herself. "A-are you mad at me for summoning you?"

Emiya stopped and tilted his head slightly. "Why would I be mad for being summoned, Master?"

Louise straightened a little. That was an encouraging sign. It didn't seem like Emiya would be declaring a blood feud against her for binding him against his will. "W-well, you're a Noble, right?"

There was a brief pause from Emiya, and then he nodded. "In a way, yes. Though I have not held my title for some time now, Master. Is that a concern?"

"Oh." Louise frowned. "So are you a disgraced Noble then? You said earlier that you were 'once known' as Emiya Shirou. Does that mean you were cast off from your family?"

That scenario was slightly less worrying than having summoned an heir to a prominent family. Even if Emiya's name was one she hadn't heard before, it was possible that he was someone important from another country. The name sounded vaguely Romalian, so maybe he was from a minor line there?

"In a way, yes." Emiya had a far-off look in his eyes as he said that. "It's been a while since I've been with them, so that statement is not inaccurate, Master."

That caused Louise's frown to deepen. "Wouldn't your family be mad that I summoned you as a familiar, Emiya? Even if you were cast-off, the thought of serving another Noble like this..."

Louise had to suppress a shiver. If she had been summoned by someone to be a familiar and her mother found out, well Louise doubted that the contract would last much longer. After all, the familiar bond was supposed to enforce absolute obedience and such so that the familiar would-

The thought caused her mind to come to a screeching halt.

By the Founder, the familiar bond ensured absolute obedience. For animals, that made it so that they wouldn't attack their summoner, but for humans? The magic was enough to tame even mighty manticores, which would have never deigned to respect a human. And here was a powerful Noble, albeit cast-off from the main line, who she had summoned to be a familiar. A young man who had been nothing but subservient from the moment he arrived, and one who called her 'Master'.

"Master." Emiya's voice brought Louise out of her thoughts, and she flinched. "Is something the matter?"

Louise forced down her rising panic. M-maybe she didn't just enslave someone. Right. There hadn't been signs of the familiar markings being branded onto him, so maybe this was all just a big misunderstanding.

"U-um, Emiya?"

"Yes, Master?"

Louise shrank back. If the answer to her question was 'no', then she was still a failure. But if the answer was 'yes'...

"Are you really my familiar?"

Emiya frowned. "Did you intend to summon a familiar, Master?"

Louise gave a meek nod.

Emiya smiled. "Then yes, I am your familiar."

"...Why are you not mad?" Louise's voice was quiet. "How are you not bothered by this, Emiya? Is it the familiar bond? Does it really suppress the summoned being's desires so much that they're completely subservient?" At this point, Louise was talking more to herself than Emiya. "Did I really summon someone just to enslave them? But... the summoning ritual wouldn't allow that, right? Then again, with what all my other spells do..."

"Master."

Louise took a step back. "No! You should be mad! You should be angry!" Her emotions were in turmoil.

It wasn't right. This wasn't right. The Founder said to enslave another man was a sin punishable by death.

She slumped to the ground and clasped her arms around her knees, hugging her legs to her chest.

...Her mother would kill her when she found out. The rule of steel was unyielding, and Karin wouldn't hold back for even her own children. Louise's father might try to help her, but even he deferred to Louise's mother in situations like these.

"A slave. I made someone into a slave. By Brimir, I've made someone into a slave."

"Louise."

The sound of her name being called caused the blonde girl to look up.

Emiya had knelt down before her, like when they first formed to contract. "I believe we have a misunderstanding."

Louise let out a bitter laugh. "You're only saying that because of the bond. It's obvious. If you were in your right mind, you'd be angry. Anyone would be angry at being summoned as a familiar."

Emiya shook his head. "Like I said, you misunderstand-"

"STOP TRYING TO ASSURE ME!" Louise flinched away from the silver-haired man. "Just- don't. Please."

He nodded, though a slight frown was on his face.

Seeing that made Louise doubt herself for a moment. He had seemed genuinely upset for her sake- no. Of course not. How silly of her to think so. It was just an idle hope after all.

Louise the Zero would never have summoned someone who would support her like the man in front of her tried. He was a Noble, and the indignity of being summoned would have made a Noble angry enough to declare a blood feud, or even kill the summoner. The fact that he attempted neither was all too telling: she had made him that way from their contract.

She shivered. It wasn't from the cold, since the day was still long and the sun shining with warm rays of light. No, she shivered because everyone was right. She _was_ a zero. Every single spell she tried went horribly wrong, and 'Contract Familiar' along with 'Summon Servant' were no exceptions to that.

* * *

The Sword- no. He would have to begin referring himself to the name his Master preferred.

Emiya Shirou. It was not his name, but the one that belonged to this body before he came to be. And it was still His name, the one who still existed on a higher plane of existence.

Emiya Shirou. Truthfully, in the apparent western culture the Sword had found himself in, the name should be 'Shirou Emiya'. But Emiya Shirou... yes, that was an acceptable compromise. He was 'of Shirou', so that could truthfully be his family name. Emiya... that was a name he took up both for Him and for the Defender of Justice whose duties the Sword took up when those he protected had passed on.

Emiya. Yes, that was an acceptable compromise.

Emiya looked upon his Master and considered what to do.

She was upset. He could see that, despite lacking emotions himself. The cause appeared to be a misunderstanding. From what he could glean, it appeared that the source was a mistaken belief that she had forced him to be subservient against his will. And now she wouldn't believe him, no matter what reassurances he attempted, for they would be seen as the actions of a mind-washed individual.

For a moment, Emiya pondered her reaction. It was apparent that her self-esteem was non-existent, and he would guess that his Master had no encouragement throughout her life. Or if she had, it was far and few.

The Sword that he was, Emiya could feel no emotions. However, if he could, he believed 'rage' would be an appropriate term to how he would react. She was but a child, and in this crucial phase of their development such low self-esteem would not be healthy.

But that was a problem for the future. Now he had to convince his Master that he wasn't a mindless slave. It would be difficult, since reassurance would be a negative sign. In that case, she would just have to convince herself.

"...Louise."

At the sound of his voice, the small girl flinched and drew her legs closer to her chest as if trying to bury herself.

A tinge of something that he would have called 'anger' were he not a Sword. Emiya suppressed it and continued. "I will not try to convince you of my sincerity. Instead, I would ask you to listen to a story."

A small nod.

She was listening. Good.

"Once, there was a young girl. On a daily basis, she was ridiculed and taunted for not being able to do what was expected of her by the ones around her."

A flash of empathy. She could relate.

He continued. "She tried her best, and yet it was never enough. Despite all of the work she put in, she just couldn't meet those expectations. And because of that, they called her a failure. A failure, when all she wanted was praise."

Again, there was empathy from Louise. She seemed to be entranced by the story, enthralled by the fact that someone else might have gone through her life. "...What was her name?"

Emiya ignored the question.

"The day came for her to prove herself. A summoning ritual had been prepared for her to call forth a familiar, someone to stand by her side in conflict. They didn't expect for her to succeed, but the girl's heartfelt desires brought forth a success beyond all expectations. One of the greatest warriors of the land had been called to her side, an invincible hero."

At that, Louise scowled. "I told you to stop trying to make me feel better! You're my familiar so listen to me-"

"Her name was Illyasviel von Einzbern, the elder sister of the one that was once known as Emiya Shirou."

It was a story he had learned many years after His sacrifice. A tale of regret from the one who would have stood by her side had he known what was happening, but instead found himself at odds with her.

"You have a sister?" Louise's voice was soft, and he could hear the guilt in those words.

Emiya shook his head. "I have no right to call her that."

And he didn't. She was the sister to Emiya Shirou, the real one who had once inhabited this body and also the defender of justice from another time that she eventually married.

He sighed. "Even if I did, she has been dead for a long time."

The two were silent as they sat on the grassy plains. Louise was quiet, no doubt contemplating the tale he had just told her. As for himself, he was lost in reflections of the past. It was nostalgic, reliving those far off days before his life became an endless stream of conflict.

* * *

Louise stared at Emiya. His eyes had taken on a distant look, like he was reminiscing.

...Not a slave then. He was right, she _had_ been mistaken.

A sister, one with a Germanian name. Illyasviel von Einzbern.

Louise was fairly intelligent from having to compensate for her lack of magic with tests when it came to her grades. Because of that, she could piece together the story from what Emiya wasn't telling her.

It was clear, and fairly simple. He must have been an illegitimate child from their family line. Because of that, he was likely raised not knowing about his sister. And probably because the family sired an illegitimate child, all of the expectations had been placed upon her. She eventually succeeded, probably the same way that Louise had today. But by the time Emiya met her, it was too late.

Regret. That was the reason he was being so subservient. It would also explain the man's mannerisms and abilities. He didn't look much older than she was, so a 'long time' must have meant that his sister had died when he was young.

The summoning ritual was supposed to call forth a familiar with the greatest compatibility, wasn't it? In that case, after hearing Emiya's story, it made perfect sense: she was in the exact same position his sister had been in. But this time, he could do something about the situation.

"I understand, Emiya." Louise nodded, a small smile on her face. She felt a little guilty that she was taking the place of his sister, but she had always wanted a protective older brother.

Although, she still had the rest of the school, and her family when they found out about Emiya, to deal with.

The silver-haired man smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes. "Then shall we go, Master-"

"Louise."

Emiya paused and gave her a searching look, then nodded. "Louise. Shall we go?" He held out a hand, one worn with signs of a hard life.

She smiled and grabbed it. "Let's go."

* * *

A/N: Alright, now I know I said I wouldn't right anymore for this until I finished 'A Different Path'. However, the fact that I've only really got 1000 or so words of the actual story in the first chapter bothered me. Like a sliver you couldn't quite get out, or a thorn in the side that's irksome but not painful. Unfortunately, it was draining my creative resources, and so this is my way of compromising against that irritating muse's siren call.

At least there's nothing else really spoiler-worthy here... I think. Maybe?

*sigh*

Well, as you can see from Louise's reaction here, things are going to be quite different as a result of summoning this Shirou and his initial actions upon being summoned. Nobles aren't supposed to summon other Nobles, you see, even if they might be disgraced due to the fact that it's practically slavery. That, along with the lack of visible runes, are going to result in quite a different reaction from the cast when things get rolling.

There. That's absolutely it from me for this story until I've at least written the ending this comes from and published it.

I will finish the story, dang it! I refuse to be side-tracked any more, no matter how interesting this is!

*ahem*

I hope you enjoyed this unexpected update (believe me, I did NOT plan this. Stupid ADD brain) and feel free to leave a review.

Thanks for reading, and understanding. And please don't ask me to update this soon. The temptation is strong enough as it is. *_*


	3. Sword of Origin: Thoughts

A/N1: I give up.

* * *

**_Sword of Origin: Thoughts_**

* * *

They arrived back at the castle at sunset. It had been a longer walk than expected for Louise, but she didn't mind. Just the fact that there was someone, anyone, who was there to support her made her happy enough for the time to be meaningless. In her life, the only person who had supported her was her older sister Cattleya, but it had been over a year since she had last seen her. A year with nothing but ridicule.

But now there was someone else who would support her as well. Emiya Shirou... she still didn't know much about the person she had summoned, but Louise was glad of the fact that the silver-haired man had chosen to stand by her side. He was quiet, but carried a sort of calm reassurance that was comforting to Louise.

And it was with that thought in her mind that the pair arrived at the door to Louise's dorm and she realized she didn't have any accommodations for Emiya.

"What's wrong, Louise?" Emiya tilted his head to the side, looking at her with those silver eyes.

Louise shifted her gaze, unable to meet Emiya's eyes. "U-um, don't be offended by this, Emiya, b-but I didn't realize I'd be summoning you. I mean, I thought I would summon an animal for a familiar, not another Noble, s-so-"

A slight smile on the man's face. "It will be fine, Louise. So long as you are comfortable and I may protect you, nothing else matters."

The sincerity in his words was almost painful for her, but she nodded and opened the door.

Since Tristain was a magical academy for Nobles, the living conditions for its students was nothing less than luxurious. This was true even for Louise, who admittedly had not succeeded as much as her peers.

The room was furnished with a king-sized bed with draperies, a towering oak wardrobe, and other elegant wooden fixtures. The walls were stone, as it was still part of the castle, but the floor was paneled with the same wood that made up the furniture.

A large window draped with purple curtains stood directly opposite from the door, and the bed and wardrobe were to its left and right, respectively, with the other furniture scattered throughout the room.

Even so, there was plenty of space to wander around, enough that there was no need to worry about running into anything, even in the dark.

And then, in stark contrast to the comfortable decor of her dorm, there was a pile of hay next to the bed.

Louise flushed when they entered, and the red on her face only grew when Emiya's eyes ran over the room and paused on the pile of hay. It was disgraceful for a Valliere to only have that to offer as a bed for another Noble. She'd have to rectify that as soon as possible.

"I-I know it's not much, Emiya, but-"

"It's fine, Louise." Again, he smiled at her, the same slight expression that didn't reach his eyes. "I have slept in worse conditions before, and a pile of hay is a luxury compared to those times."

"But Emiya-"

He shook his head. "As I said, Louise. So long as you are comfortable and I may protect you, nothing else matters." He frowned. "More importantly, have you eaten yet, Louise?"

A low rumbling from her stomach answered that question, as well as Louise's flush afterwards.

* * *

After a quick message to some of the castle staff, dinner had been brought to Louise's room. It was simple food, just bread and stew since the main meal was finished long before they had arrived, but it was filling and fairly delicious.

The Master and Familiar were seated on opposite sides of a round table in a corner of Louise's room. Emiya had finished his portion of the meal before Louise, and used the rest of the time to ponder his situation after setting down the empty porcelain bowl.

From their journey back, it was clear to him that he was no longer on Earth. While the terrain might be similar in some respects, as well as the language and culture, the density of mana in the air, and the few nature spirits he had seen corresponded to none that he knew existed on Earth. At least not in the modern day.

It was possible that he had travelled backwards in time, but it was far more likely he had arrived on another world or been sent to a parallel dimension.

From what he had gathered, it seemed that magic users in this world were equated with Nobility. The system of Thaumaturgy they used was one he was not familiar with, however. The flight implied witchcraft, but the fact that wands were used in tandem with incantations to perform spells meant it was something else entirely. Instead of the exception, like the mystic codes he was used to, it seemed that they were the norm here.

It was interesting, to say the least, but he doubted that there was a single mage here that could kill him. Other than his Master, of course, but the point was moot as she was the person he was to protect.

With that thought, Emiya observed his young Master. Louise was small for her age, but he doubted that it would stay that way as time passed. From her appetite, it seemed that she was physically healthy. But her mental health...

The young girl had been all but tripping over her feet to gain his approval after the misunderstanding was cleared up. He would have called it 'cute' if not for the implications it held. For one, it was not for worship that Louise acted so. The Sword... Emiya had become accustomed to such behavior after defeating a few Nobles in duels at the Clock Tower and impressing various families in the process. It was not fear either, behavior he knew after slaying half of the Dead Apostle Ancestors. No, the way she acted was like one who clung to attention of any sort and feared losing it, similar to victims of abuse or abandoned orphans who had found one they could trust at last.

It was _wrong_. Even with Steel as his core, Emiya could tell that such behavior was not ordinary, and should he ever find the source of it, only by mercy of His hand or his Master's would Emiya hold his blade.

He closed his eyes and released the thought. He was not acting alone here. Unlike those he had once protected, Louise was not yet on the level where she could hold her own. He had to take that into account.

He had been summoned as a familiar. Despite the fact that he was a 'Noble' in the eyes of the populace due to his magic, his actions would still reflect upon Louise. Unfortunately, that meant he could not slay those that annoyed him as he did in his world unless it was in defense of Louise.

...Perhaps he should look into the laws of Nobility. If they were anything like those of the Clock Tower, there should be a clause about duels of honor.

A soft sigh.

Emiya opened his eyes to see Louise slumped slightly on her seat. She had finished her meal and set her silverware and bowl against the table.

"Are you tired, Louise?"

She shook her head. "It's not that, Emiya. It's just..." She sighed again. "I don't know what to do."

He tilted his head. "Don't know what to do?"

She nodded and looked up at Emiya. "Having a Noble as a familiar here is unheard of." She sighed. "...I don't know if its common or not where you're from since your sister summoned a warrior for a familiar, but there's never been such a thing here in Tristain."

Louise sighed again and slumped even more. "It's likely that the others will think I just paid you to fake the summoning. I mean, you don't even have the familiar runes!"

Emiya frowned. "Am I supposed to have them?"

Louise nodded. "They should have been burned on the moment I finished the contract."

"Ah. If that's the case..."

Emiya dissolved his armor to reveal his bare chest.

Louise turned a beet red and covered her eyes with her hands. "W-w-w-what are you doing, Emiya?! This... even if you... but I-"

"I was unsure of the cause at the time," Emiya said. "But after establishing the contract I felt a burning sensation upon my chest. Are the runes there, Louise?"

She opened her hands a crack. Sure enough, the runes were there, though they were unlike any she had seen before. "O-oh. Yes, yes they are."

He nodded and replaced his armor, causing Louise to let out a relieved sigh.

It would appear that his Master suffered from bouts of irrationality. He was a blade, so the sight of his body should not have caused such a reaction. Then again, she was also a teenage girl.

Emiya made a mental note of that. He would need to reframe his actions in society once more.

How troublesome.

"A-anyway," Louise said. "Even if you have them, we can't go around parading you with your shirt off." She sighed. "That would probably make things worse than they already are."

"It will be fine, Louise." He gave her a reassuring smile. "No matter what occurs, I will protect you. There is nothing that can harm you so long as I am here."

Again, Louise flushed red, though she kept her eyes on him this time. "A-alright."

It was quiet for a few moments. Emiya had said his thoughts on the matter, so he deemed the conversation over. He would protect her, and events would resolve themselves in time. It was simple. But his Master appeared troubled still. Why was that?

...Ah. He had forgotten. People tended to become uncomfortable in prolonged silence, especially in the presence of another. The fact that he was keeping a steady gaze on his Master would only exacerbate that feeling.

He really should recall social etiquette. It seemed like he would be in prolonged contact with Nobility in the foreseeable future, so that would come in handy. Not only that, but while he would be able to protect his Master from threats of all sorts, he doubted she would approve of him going outside of the socially constructed laws she was accustomed to. Rin hadn't, after all, especially that one time when he killed an entire line of Magi without going through the proper channels.

Louise took a deep breath and then stood up, taking the empty bowls. "Alright. I'm going to take these back down to the help. I'll be right back, Emiya."

He got to his feet as well. "No, Louise. Let me take care of that." He reached over and tried to take the bowls from her, but Louise stepped back and shook her head.

"I'm the host here! Please, allow me, Emiya. It's the least I can do after-"

This time, Emiya shook his head. "No, allow me. As the guest, and as your familiar, it is my duty to aid you. And I enjoy chores." He reached for the bowls again, but Louise swerved around him.

"No!" She seemed flustered, and was red-faced again. "I'll take care of it, so you just sit there and relax!"

Before he could protest again, Louise ran to the door and wrenched it open, only to run into a maid with short black hair and blue eyes.

"Eep!"

"Ah!"

In a moment that would not have looked out of place in one of those anime that Ilya and the children enjoyed watching, the two girls landed on top of each other in a heap of tangled limbs.

The bowls that his Master had been carrying, fragile porcelain creations as they were, shattered against the ground, launched in the air the moment Louise had started falling.

Emiya sighed.

* * *

After helping the maid, who introduced herself as Siesta to Louise and Emiya, pick up the broken porcelain, Louise had asked Emiya to go with the maid to take care of Louise's dirty laundry. She was a bit worried that it would be overstepping her bounds, but Emiya had just smiled at her and went to work.

And then Louise was alone in her room. She hadn't really needed Emiya to take out her clothes, but she needed time to think, and she couldn't do that with the man in the room.

She pulled her legs close to her chest. After Emiya left, she had changed into her nightgown, a white camisole, and climbed into her bed. It was here that she was pondering about her familiar... or was it Servant?

It was all just beginning to be a bit too much for her. Louise's plans to uphold her image as a Noble had failed miserably when she crashed into that maid and embarrassed herself.

She sighed. Louise just didn't know how to act around him. For one, he was a Mage, if not a Noble. That alone gave the dynamics between their relationship and awkward start.

And he was also her familiar, a being that was meant to be the other half of a Mage, the one that was the symbol of their power. The summoning ritual was supposed to summon something that represented the elemental alignment of the summoner, as well as their compatibility.

Louise didn't know what it meant for her to have summoned a Mage, especially one that could use high level earth and wind magic, but she knew they were compatible at least: he was someone who wanted to protect her.

That last fact made her happy. To have someone, especially a person as powerful and skilled as Emiya, at her side was a miracle that was beyond her wildest dreams. She wasn't alone anymore. Sure, she might still get teased or ridiculed, but at least she knew Emiya would be there.

Right?

She sighed again.

Despite his words to her, Louise was still worried. Emiya was a great Mage. At least lower-Square class, judging from his display of swords. That, and his armor seemed to be a direct result of his magic. He could make them appear at will, without even so much as a wave of a wand.

That last thought gave Louise pause. That was right. Emiya hadn't used a wand or an incantation for his magic. It just... happened. Her mother could do the same with some simple spells, but that was because she had spent a lifetime using them, so much that they were second nature to her. Even then, she always seemed a bit drained afterwards.

Emiya hadn't been.

To create so many blades at once had to have been a Square-class spell. She was sure of it. But... he had done so with ease, and wandless.

_I have no right to call her that... even if I did, she has been dead for a long time._

Louise frowned as she recalled his words. Now that Emiya wasn't around, she could think things through a little clearer, and his strange mannerisms came to the fore. A golem. That was what he reminded her of. His voice was soft and mostly monotone, and he spoke in an objective manner.

It bothered her, now that she thought about it. Not only that, but he was mostly quiet, standing still without the slightest movements at times.

He was human. That much Louise was sure of. Though it was strange that he could use such high level magic with ease, Emiya didn't have the pointed ears of an elf. And though he might seem like a golem in his demeanor, he wasn't completely emotionless.

But in that case... what did he go through to end up like that? Just...

"Who are you, Emiya Shirou?"

* * *

Emiya walked through the stone halls of Tristain Academy carrying a basket of clothing. By his side was Siesta, the maid who Louise had run into. At first, she had been talkative and thankful for his help, but after he fixed the porcelain bowls with an application of Reinforcement, she had been silent.

He thought it was strange, but didn't think much on it. As long as he could get his Master's clothing cleaned and as long as he could be of help, nothing else really mattered.

After a long walk throughout the stone halls, during which Emiya catalogued the layout of the academy, Siesta came to a halt in front of a plain wooden door. "W-we're here, Sir Emiya."

He looked up. There was a sign on the door with runic symbols on it. It was an unfamiliar script, but to his eyes it didn't matter, and he saw that it read 'Servant Quarters'.

Siesta gave him a quick bow. "You can just leave the bowls and Miss Valliere's clothing here. We'll take care of the rest."

Emiya blinked. Did she really expect him to just leave her to do all the work? "I'm afraid we have a misunderstanding, Siesta."

She flinched. It was slight, and barely visible, but Emiya had caught it.

"W-we have?" she asked.

Fear. For some reason, she was afraid of him.

He noted it. Perhaps there were more similarities between the Nobles he was used to and the Nobles here than he would have liked.

Emiya gave her a slight smile to calm her nerves. "I followed you because I assumed you were leading me to a place I could clean these, not so I can leave them for someone else to take care of."

Siesta tilted her head, eyes blank. "...Um, pardon me, I think I misheard. Did you say you wanted to do the chores yourself?"

He nodded. "Yes. So if you could show me to the necessary supplies, I would appreciate it."

The maid's mouth dropped, agape like someone who was looking at an impossibility.

Emiya frowned. Was it really that out of place for him to want to do chores? Sure, it seemed that the social structure of the world was Feudal, but even then there were males who performed chores, weren't there? Unless he had fallen into a completely parallel world.

Though if his presence here was because of that prankster Zelretch, it wasn't unlikely.

..Ah. But in that case, Rin would have already brought him back. And Zelretch already knew better after she won their last prank war.

Siesta shook her head slightly and then smiled. "I'm sorry for misunderstanding, Sir Emiya. In that case, we should head to the laundry room. Um, you can leave the bowls there though. I'll take care of it while you wash the clothes."

"As you say."

After putting the bowls away, Siesta led him to another room, this one with barrels of soapy water and washing boards. There were already a few other maids hard at work when they entered, all of whom turned to look at him with wide eyes.

He ignored them and set to work. It wouldn't be the first time he was the center of attention, so something like that didn't bother him.

Placing the basket down near the closest tub of water, he picked up the first article of his Master's clothing and started washing it, losing himself in the familiar process.

* * *

"...So you were summoned today, Sir Emiya?"

After washing the clothing, Siesta had directed him to a place where he could set it out to dry. While he could have dried them in an instant with some Alteration, namely removing the property of 'wet' from the clothes, the maid insisted on letting her do at least one part of the laundry reasoning that it was what she was paid to do.

Now he was returning to her room with a fresh batch of clothing, the latest set laundered by the maids. Siesta had taken it upon herself to guide him back after he picked up the refilled basket of clothing. Though he didn't need the directions, Emiya had decided to humor her, since he had troubled her so much.

"Yes, I was."

Siesta tilted her head in thought. "And you're a Noble?"

There was that emphasis on Nobility again. It seemed to be a recurring trend around here, but he still wasn't sure exactly what it meant. "Why don't you tell me what you think a Noble is first, Siesta."

She blinked, surprised at my question, but then nodded. "A Noble is someone who can use magic, the gift granted by Founder Brimir to the faithful, and given the authority to rule over those without his blessings."

A recitation. The way Siesta had said the words were more like a mantra, or doctrine, than her actual feelings. It seemed that the Nobility here had just as much power as the Lords in the Clock Tower, though their reach seemed to be much further, judging from Siesta's reactions.

"...I see. But you haven't answered my question, Siesta. What do you think a Noble is?"

She didn't answer, and that in of itself was telling.

It was late now, and the sun had long set, replaced by a pair of crimson and azure moons. A surprising sight, but nothing too important.

In any case, it was night now, and late at that. The students had long gone to bed, and so he and Siesta were the only ones ascending the stone steps of the dormitory towers.

And then they had arrived at Louise's room.

He stopped outside the door and turned to thank Siesta, but she preempted him.

The maid gave him a deep bow and then smiled. "Thank you for the help, Sir Emiya. Have a good night."

And before he could say another word, she turned and walked down the stairs. A young woman who had the misfortune to not have been born into the upper class, to be categorized as 'lesser' only due to a circumstance of fate.

He called out. "I am not a Noble."

Siesta stopped and turned around. Emiya was higher up than she was, as the maid had already descended a few steps.

She tilted her head. "Sir Emiya?"

That image only reinforced the already troubling picture he had of this world's Nobles in his mind.

He smiled at Siesta. "I am one who protects those who need to be protected. That is all."

Though his duty was to Louise first it, this maid would be vulnerable as well. And he would not allow a kind young woman like her to suffer when he could have prevented it. "Thank you for your help today."

"A-ah." A small blush was on the maid's face and she bowed again. "Y-you're welcome. Good night."

He nodded. "Good night."

With that, Siesta departed, and Emiya was left alone outside that door.

He opened it, picking up the basket of clothing, and quietly stepped inside.

His Master was asleep. She had cuddled up on her bed like a kitten would, wrapping her blankets around her. Her breath was slow and steady, so it appeared that she had gone to bed a while ago, and was now in the deeper stages of slumber.

Emiya walked over to the wardrobe and put the clothes away in their respective places, then walked over to the pile of hay.

While he had told Louise he slept in worse conditions before, the truth was that a Sword like him needed no sleep. At best, it was a means to restore his prana reserves, but those were still full and far from being empty. It would take something like an all-out war before he even came close to reaching half capacity, as he knew from experience. No, as it was now sleep would only be a waste of time.

He focused on the hay. It was taking up space, and cluttering the otherwise neat room. There was still a long time before the sun rose again, so he might as well do something productive.

It had been a while since he made stuffed animals for children out of grass and hay, but he had all night to practice. With that in mind, he sat down and began picking up clumps of hay, reshaping them with Reinforcement and Alteration.

* * *

Louise was dreaming. It was a strange thought to have, but she knew without a doubt that she was dreaming in the same manner that she knew when she was awake.

She was dreaming, and she was aware. Despite that, she wasn't aware of everything.

A flash of light, the purest that could ever exist. A man with silver hair and eyes. Feelings of loss, regret, and sorrow.

It was a barrage of images, feelings, sounds, and events that Louise couldn't comprehend. But despite that, one part of the dream was clear to her.

A single line that sounded like a part of an elegy, spoken by a warm masculine voice.

_His blood is of iron and his heart of glass._

And then she opened her eyes.

It was morning. Dawn, to be exact. She could see the sun just peeking out from the horizon and the sky just starting to brighten from the window by her bed.

Louise sat up and rubbed her eyes. As she remembered what she had seen, she said, "What a strange dream."

"Ah. Good morning, Louise."

The strange male voice caused her to almost jump out of her bed before her mind caught up with her and she remembered who it belonged to.

Emiya Shirou. The Noble who was no longer a Noble that she had summoned and said he would protect her. The expert Mage who could create a thousand swords in mid-air, and who... was standing there with over a dozen plushed animals?

Louise rubbed her eyes again, but they were still there. "...Emiya. What are those?"

He gave her a small smile. "Ah. The hay was taking up space and cluttering your room. I decided that I could put it to better use and made these." He gestured towards the array of animals in front of him.

A tiger, a wolf, a bear. Even a stuffed dragon among all things! Not only that, but each was made with expert craftsmanship, as if they had been created by a Master Artificer.

Louise blinked. "You made them?"

She did accept that Emiya was a skilled mage. And those that had fallen from grace were said to pick up talents to help them survive, but making stuffed animals...?

"I did indeed, Louise. Do you like them?" He frowned. "I wasn't sure what animal you were partial to, so I decided to make a few. At first, I had planned to use it all to create one large plushed animal, but then realized that you might not like it, so I made these instead."

Emiya got to his feet, the stuffed animals cradled against his chest.

It was surreal.

"...I'm going to get dressed."

Louise got out of her bed and walked towards her wardrobe.

Maybe if she ignored him things would make sense again.

...Though the animals were cute. Maybe things would work out after all.

* * *

Seeing that his Master was getting dressed and that she was in a pleasant mood, Emiya took the time to place the animals around the room. He made sure to keep his back to his Master though, out of respect for her modesty. That lesson had been beaten into him often enough by Rin for him to forget, even if he had been alone for a century.

The act of cleaning up and placing the animals brought up memories of lighter times for him, back to when the children had been growing up and he had watched them.

"I'm done, Emiya."

He placed the last animal, a stuffed tiger, by Louise's pillow and then turned around.

She was dressed the same way she had when he was summoned: a black skirt, white dress-shirt, and a cloak around her shoulders that was clasped by a brass emblem with a pentagram.

Emiya nodded. "So how shall we do this, Louise? No matter what others may believe, I am your familiar. Do you want me to stay by your side?"

Truthfully, that was his preferred course of action. While he doubted that his Master was in significant danger here, the jeers and taunts that could arise were something he would not allow her to go through alone. Still, she was his Master, and he would abide by her decision.

Louise sighed. "You might as well." She grabbed her wand and headed towards the door. "I hope it isn't as bad as I think it is..."

Her last words were murmured, and Emiya doubted that she meant for him to hear them. But hear them he did.

Patience. A sword could stand for eternity under the rule of steel, and he should do the same. Wait and see. At least for the moment.

It was not yet time to be drawn.

* * *

This is the Tiger Dojo. Take the advice?

Note. Tiger Dojo is a strange hint corner. If you would like to finish the story by yourself, or if you would like to keep the characters' images, please be warned.

1\. Yes

2\. No

* * *

**Tiger Dojo**

Taiga winced, rubbing the back of her head. Like the last time, she was dressed in a white kimono and black hakama. "Owowow."

"Are you alright, Sensei?" Ilya was standing by her side, again in a white t-shirt and purple bloomers.

Taiga waved off her student's concerns. "I'm fine, student. Thank you for the concern." She sighed and glared at the screen. "It's all the Wizard's fault."

"Ah." Ilya nodded. "Yes. He really shouldn't blame us for this, should he? I mean, he did promise last time to not write anymore."

Taiga let out a long sigh. "That he did. And now he wants us to do this again? After slamming the door on my-"

A note card appeared before her.

'You're lucky I'm keeping you two here instead of killing you off. Get to work.'

"Hai, hai." Taiga sighed again. "Whatever the Wizard wants... stupid hypocrite. Anyway."

She clapped her hands together and stared straight ahead, a grin on her face. "Welcome back to the Tiger Dojo, Reader-san."

"Yay!" Ilya pumped her fist in the air.

"So, Reader-san. You should scold the Wizard for doing this." Taiga gave a sagely nod. "He should really be working on Shirou's story, rather than the Sword's."

"Sensei," Ilya said. "You shouldn't be so hard on him. Being a writer is tough. Even when he can stop and say a Wizard did it."

"Yeah, yeah. But we should probably talk about the story here before the Wizard gets mad again." Taiga shivered. "Last time was scary."

"Hai!"

"Yosh." Taiga clapped her hands together. "So the Sword. Or is it 'Emiya Shirou'?"

"Un." Ilya nodded. "He's pretty shameless isn't he? Even Onii-chan wasn't that bad when his Harem Aura was going."

"Indeed, student." Taiga nodded. "Not even a whole day and he's already racked up points for the maid and the tsundere route." She paused. "Though Louise-san seems a lot softer than she's supposed to be."

"Well," Ilya said. "Emiya is being really nice to her. That, and since he's still as clueless and honest as Onii-chan was means that it's hard to hate him, isn't it? And he made plushies!"

Taiga nodded. "And they're cute too. Geez. I never thought someone as scary as him could be so calm."

"Well, he WAS involved in a lot of humanitarian stuff later. Between all the fighting. Right, Sensei?"

Taiga was quiet, staring off into the distance.

"Sensei?"

"Well, Reader-san. It seems like our time is up."

"Eh?!"

Taiga let out a long sigh. "We have to stick to the script, Ilya-chan. We can't say much else, remember?"

"Oh." Ilya nodded. "Right. There's still a long time left before we can reveal the Sword's past completely."

"Yep."

Taiga turned around and started walking away. "So farewell, Reader-san. Remember to scold the Wizard, alright?"

Ilya waved. "Bye!"

And then she hurried after Taiga.

With that, the doors of the dojo closed, and everything faded to black.

**End Tiger Dojo**

* * *

A/N2: Right. So it seems that I now have a mental block that prevents me from writing more than 4500 words on 'A Different Path' without making progress on this story. Due to this, I will be updating this story after every chapter of 'A Different Path'. In lieu of the former work being incomplete, the Sword's past and explanations for his abilities, as well as certain events will remain shrouded in mystery until a further date.

You are free to speculate and imagine how events reached that point, though I will neither confirm, nor deny anything.

On the plus side, all this writing is good experience. I should be able to get updates out faster now that I'm in this rhythm.

On a side-note, it appears that declaring to 'absolutely not do something' tempts your mind and fate to force you to do that thing.

Yeah.

Well, if you're still reading this story, I'll just have to apologize for any spoilers that may slip out. They shouldn't be *too* plot damaging, though you'll have to judge for yourself whether it's worth the risk of continuing to read this story.

Yeah.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter at least, and remember to leave a review. The input only helps this story get better, and I do take the time to read each one, though I might not get the chance to reply to each.

Until the next.


	4. Sword of Origin: To Protect

**_Sword of Origin: To Protect_**

* * *

Emiya followed Louise outside of her room, taking up a position behind her and to her left. But they had scarcely taken three steps towards the stairs when Emiya heard a door open behind them and a voice call out. "Oh? You're up early today, Louise."

Tense. The moment those words were said, Louise had stiffened like a drawn bow. "Kirche."

Emiya narrowed his eyes and looked towards the source.

A young woman with a voluptuous body. Her hair was red, though it tended more towards a light red-orange than blood-red. She was leaning against her door, arms crossed beneath her chest, and looked at Louise with a mischievous grin. "I would have thought you would be up all night with someone as attractive as that sharing your room."

Louise flushed a deep red. "I-it's- We're not like that!"

Kirche scoffed. "Please. Everyone knows that he's not your familiar. There's no way that a Noble can be summoned."

The young woman was agitating Louise. Though her words were without malice, the callous manner in which she spoke was damaging in itself.

"Louise." He placed a reassuring hand on his Master's shoulder. "Let's go."

She glanced at him and nodded, turning back towards the stairs. "You're right, Emiya." A smile crossed her face. "Zerbst isn't important anyway."

"Oh? Is that so, Valliere?" Kirche shook her head at Louise and then shifted her gaze to Emiya.

He recognized that expression. It was one he had seen all too many times on those females that thought they could use their body to bend him to their whims.

"At least I can show him a good time."

She stepped towards him, arms crossed beneath her chest. "What was your name again?"

Emiya glanced at Louise. She was tense again, hands clenched into fists. She wasn't looking back at this 'Kirche', but he could tell that it was only through her pride and force of will.

He gave Louise a reassuring squeeze on her shoulder and started walking. Without looking back, he said, "I am someone who has no desire to associate with a woman like you, Kirche. Come on, Louise."

"...Okay." A soft reply, one that only he could hear.

With that, Louise continued down the stairs, with Emiya following shortly behind her.

But it seemed that the red-haired woman wasn't finished with them yet. "He's awfully loyal, isn't he Valliere?"

Perhaps it was jealousy that caused the next words. Perhaps it was malice. But what Emiya knew was that they hurt Louise.

"It makes me wonder what you did to have such a powerful Noble working for you, Valliere."

Emiya stopped and turned around. Louise had stopped as well and was visibly shaking.

Kirche's eyes gleamed when she saw that she had his attention. "It doesn't matter though. Noble, whatever Valliere did to get you to work for her, I assure you I can do..._better._"

The last words was said in a sultry manner, and she squeezed her arms around her chest for emphasis.

Enough.

Even if it was simple rivalry. Even if it might just be teasing or Kirche's natural personality, that callous manner in which she implied the reason he served Louise was illicit had crossed the line.

He did not glare. Such a simple gesture would not have been enough to express his dissatisfaction at the young woman's actions. No, Emiya _looked_ at Kirche, as if peering into her very soul. Which he did.

The information he gained from that was irrelevant, and he wished to know nothing more of this 'Kirche' who would degrade his Master so. Instead, he used that piercing gaze and colored it with killing intent, directed solely on the naive and callous girl in front of him who would say such things.

Kirche was wide-eyed, almost petrified at his gaze.

Good.

"I will say this once... Zerbst. Do not speak of that which you have no knowledge."

He turned slightly, so that he was only looking at her from the corner of his eyes. "Louise is a person who needs my support, and one who I choose to protect upon my summoning. There was no coercion, and there was no illicit affairs."

He narrowed his eyes, causing Kirche to flinch. "Am I clear?"

"Emiya." Louise spoke in a confident voice. It seemed that she had regained a bit of her composure from seeing the red-headed woman's reaction. "That's enough."

He glanced towards Louise for a moment, and then nodded.

"As you say."

He released his gaze and focused intent. The moment he did, Kirche collapsed against the wall, legs giving out underneath her. Emiya noticed a large reptile slink out of the room and nudge against her, likely Kirche's familiar, in a way of comfort.

From the wide-eyed expression on her face, it seemed like she needed it.

He saw his Master give the young woman an unreadable expression, and then began heading down the stairs.

He followed, though he mentally reassessed the situation.

Perhaps he would be drawn after all.

* * *

Louise's heart was pounding.

Emiya had just defended her. The one she summoned had just defended her.

The pair were walking down the stone halls, with Emiya again standing behind her in that protective position. Unlike earlier, his very demeanor was harsh, and his expression severe, with narrowed eyes constantly scanning their surroundings.

It reminded Louise of her mother when she was teaching the 'Rule of Steel'.

He was scary. Louise couldn't help but admit that. And yet... she was happy.

For once, Zerbst shut up. A miracle, almost! And all it took was one look from Emiya, and she had been reduced to a shivering mess.

_Turnabout is fair play, Zerbst._

It was satisfying, to say the least. Especially when the other people that had teased and ridiculed her throughout the last year blanched upon meeting his gaze.

_He's really protecting me._

That thought kept echoing through her mind. Forget the fact that she summoned a Noble. Forget the fact that her classmates had tormented her. Here was someone who trusted her, who would protect her.

Not only that, but he had said it himself. He _chose_ to protect her. A powerful Mage like him, castoff Noble or not, could have easily left her behind. And for a moment when Kirche was acting up, Louise had worried that Emiya really would. It wouldn't be the first time Kirche ruined something for Louise.

But he had rejected her. Completely.

And so Louise couldn't help the wide smile on her face as she stepped into the Alvis Dining Hall.

The fact that every student turned towards them when they entered was taken in stride. They didn't matter. Emiya was a sign of her success, a measure of her worth. If someone like him believed in her, she had to have done something right.

So she sat down at the center table of the three in the hall with abandon, with Emiya taking a seat next to her. If anyone complained, well, they could deal with him first.

* * *

While Louise went about her routine of eating breakfast with her peers, the Sword swept his gaze throughout the room, judging them. As expected, a majority of the students were whispering about Louise and himself. Their reactions, however, ranged from disbelief to fear to anger to even... disgust? The first three he could understand, while the last was unexpected.

He took a bite out of the roasted chicken in front of him out of habit, as well as some of the other food.

He found it a bit strange, however, that he and Louise were the center of attention. With all of the other familiars that had been summoned, he would have expected at least a few students to be focused on those instead, especially as they were the new partners towards the summoners. But instead their eyes were on Louise.

"...Louise," he said. "Is there a particular reason why your peers are so focused on us?"

The varied emotions were too strange.

"Ah." Louise continued eating. "They're probably just curious about a human being summoned, let alone a Mage. It hasn't happened before in recorded history, if I remember right."

"Is that so?"

It still didn't explain the last reaction.

...Or perhaps it did. But if it was that case...

Emiya paused. What was the best way to resolve this scenario? Intimidation would worsen the outcome. Protests would enhance the outcome they had in mind. And he couldn't just kill them off unless he wanted Louise to stay on the run. Even though the world was different, he was reasonably sure that the familiar's actions would reflect on the summoner or Master.

So he would have to wait then. There was not yet an opportunity for him to act. At most, he would seem defensive. At best, he would affirm the thoughts in their minds.

He finished eating and surveyed the students again, keeping an eye out for memorable faces. Most blanched at his gaze and quickly turned their eyes aside, but a few reacted contrary to his expectations.

There was a blonde boy, wearing an open shirt that revealed his toned body. While the boy flinched on seeing Emiya's gaze, his eyes flicked towards Louise for a moment, and then towards the other students. When they settled on the other students, Emiya caught a glimpse of anger in his expression, directed towards his peers.

Interesting.

There was that red-haired woman again. She had a group of boys around her, all vying for her attention. Yet she seemed dazed, if slightly introspective. When she met his gaze, she too flinched, but he caught a glimpse of regret.

It seemed that his lesson had been taken to heart.

Though the boys surrounding her looked at him with nothing but malice when he met their eyes.

And then there was a young girl with blue-green hair and glasses. It was her that stuck out the most among all the students in the dining hall. Unlike the other teenagers, her gaze was steady and focused firmly on Emiya and not Louise. Those eyes of hers were scrutinizing, and far from fearful. No, that was incorrect. There was fear there, but it was refined. Caution, rather than complete terror.

When he met her eyes, she turned her head, though he noted that her hands never strayed from the staff by her side.

A fighter then, one who was used to assessing the combat potential of others.

He would keep an eye on that one.

"...do you think, Emiya?"

He blinked and turned towards Louise. "I apologize, Louise, but what were you saying?"

"I asked what you thought of the dining hall, Emiya," Louise said. "As a former Noble, I'm sure you've seen more than a few regal places in your life. I was just wondering how this place compared."

"Ah." He smiled, relaxing a bit. "This hall is quite elegant. Very fitting for Nobles with the fine decor and food."

The fact that he thought little of the type of Nobles who would live like this was left unsaid as he passed the rest of the time talking with Louise.

* * *

When breakfast was finished, classes began.

Emiya followed Louise throughout the castle to an area with classrooms that seemed like the lecture halls used in universities, albeit made of stone rather than wood.

Louise had taken the time to explain the history of the castle, as well as its format and other trivia, to Emiya along the way there. With the air of an enthusiastic young girl, she had taken to the act with an obsessive fervor, pulling him here and there as a girl would for their older brother.

"...And here is where my first class is."

The sound of laughter echoing from the room brought her to a halt.

It wasn't a joyous sound, but malevolent. Mocking.

Emiya narrowed his eyes. The source was from a small number of students, so it appeared that not all were involved.

Regardless, Louise's enthusiasm had faltered, and she hesitated before opening the door.

Emiya did it for her.

Again, he swept his gaze across the students present.

Unlike during breakfast, the only thing that his action did was quell the din, and it didn't stop the harsh and mocking looks a few cast on Louise as she entered.

She shrank underneath the attention, standing behind Emiya as they walked throughout the room.

He was tempted to let loose his killing intent again, like he did for Kirche, but reigned the impulse in. That would only worsen Louise's situation. And besides, not all of the students were involved or seemed against her.

Instead, he was silent and guided Louise to a seat near the back. Again, he sat next to her, and then glared at the mocking faces, as if daring them to act.

Tense. That was the only way to describe the atmosphere in the room.

But before anything could happen, a woman walked in.

Round-faced, middle-aged, and dressed in purple robes with matching hair. It seemed that she was the teacher of this lesson.

"Good morning class. I am Chevreuse the Red Clay." She swept her gaze throughout the room, smiling at each of the familiars. "It looks like this year's Springtime Familiar Summoning was a success. It's always a pleasure to see the new familiars summoned each spring." Her gaze stopped on Emiya.

"...Hold on." She tilted her head. "Are you a new student?"

That statement shattered any restraint the other students might have had.

"Student?" someone said. "That's the 'Familiar' of Louise the Zero!"

Someone else scoffed. "Familiar? She probably paid him to fake it. The man's obviously a Mage!"

Louise shot to her feet. "I did not! He's the one I summoned!"

Her protest was ignored and yet another person chimed in. "Yeah! There's no way the Zero summoned him!"

"I-!"

"Maybe she... you know? After all, 'Zero' has nothing else to offer..."

That remark sent Louise back to her seat, and she slumped, hands pressed against her ears as if trying to close off the world.

The jeers only continued, steadily increasing in hostility and accusations too crude to repeat.

Again, the Sword noted that it was not the whole class, but the voices of the few who disagreed were overwhelmed by those that did.

Chevreuse raised her wand, face red with anger at the way her students were acting. "Class! You will NOT-"

He had enough of this.

Louise was hurting. Her reputation was being slandered. And even then, they didn't even bother to ask her for the truth.

He rose to his feet and slammed a sword into floor. It was a simple steel broadsword, but by borrowing the bloodthirsty curse of the Tora-Shinai, and repatterning it into this sword with a blade as wide as a person's head, the intimidation factor was high.

While its value as a sword was little more than a D-ranked Noble Phantasm at best, it was more than enough to suit his purpose at the moment.

The class was silent once more, and more than a few had their mouths agape at the sight of the blade.

In that time, Chevreuse waved her wand and forced them into their seats, as well as fill their mouths with red clay. With that done, she cast a nervous gaze on Emiya, especially the sword in front of him.

"T-there's no need for that now, Sir. I have the situation under control."

He felt a pulse of magic hit the blade and narrowed his eyes.

Chevreuse squeaked, but held her ground. "I-if you would be so kind as to send away your sword..."

He didn't move. "Master? What do you say?"

Emiya used the formal title to affirm their relationship. He had to let these people know that he wasn't there for idle purposes.

"...It's fine. You can do as she says."

He nodded and dissolved the blade, sitting back in his seat.

The lecture continued without trouble, although it was subdued.

* * *

It was lunchtime. Again, Emiya found himself sitting next to Louise in the Alviss Dining Hall. But this time, he noted that the atmosphere was guarded. It was to be expected from his actions prior, but something about the way they acted bothered him.

He released the thought.

The most important matter was Louise. Since the time they left the classroom, she had been quiet. The event seemed to have bothered her more than she let on. Even now, she was only picking at the food in front of her rather than enjoying it like she had this morning.

A complete shift in mood, all because of one class.

Yet... he could not do anything. He was a Sword first and foremost, and matters such as these were beyond him. The most he knew was to support and protect, and all he could do for now was stay by her side.

"...You know that I will protect you, Louise?"

She didn't reply, but gave him a small nod.

A flash of 'anger' again. Enemies were all around, but they were not those he could cut.

It... irked him.

"Sir Emiya?"

He was drawn out of his thoughts by the arrival of the maid yesterday. Siesta, that was her name.

"Yes, Siesta?"

Did she need his aid already? That would be... troublesome. At the moment, Louise required his presence. He could not afford to leave her be.

Siesta took a look at Louise and frowned. "Did something happen to Miss Valliere?"

Louise ignored her and continued picking at her food.

Again, that flash of 'anger'.

"...You could say that. Nobles."

And that one word explained it all. Siesta took a look between Louise and the other students and nodded. "Ah."

"...In any case. Was that all you wanted, Siesta?"

"Oh." She shook her head. "No. I'm here to deliver a message to you from the Headmaster."

Emiya tilted his head. Perhaps his actions had more ramifications than he had thought at the time.

"Yes?"

"He wishes for you to meet him. Ah, and I'm supposed to lead you to his office."

He cast a look towards Louise and then said, "I will have to decline. I'm worried for Louise, and I don't want to leave her alone right now-"

"Go."

Emiya blinked. That was the first word Louise had spoken in an hour.

"Master...?"

Louise shook her head. "If the Headmaster wants to talk to you, Emiya, then you shouldn't keep him waiting. Even as a castoff Noble, protocol has to be followed, you know."

Emiya narrowed his eyes. The way Louise had said those words, in such a defeated and empty tone, caused him to favor leaving her side less and less. But then if he didn't, it was highly likely that her life would be made even more miserable.

"...Very well. Siesta." He addressed the maid and got to his feet. "Lead the way."

* * *

Louise slumped the moment that Emiya left the hall with the maid.

Everything was going wrong. Even though Emiya was here, class had gone exactly as she thought it would. Summoning a Noble... who would believe that? And even if she made Emiya show them his familiar runes now, she would still be the laughing stock of the academy for binding a Mage and apparent Noble.

"...Mother's going to kill me when she hears of this."

Her words were barely audible to even herself.

She had been happy that Emiya stood up for her, but now Headmaster Osmond was going to talk to him. Probably to find a way to take him away from Louise.

_After all, 'Zero' has nothing else to offer!_

That jeer echoed through her mind.

It hurt. Not because of the way it was said, but because of its truth. She didn't have anything to offer, and when the Headmaster saw that, he would force Emiya to leave.

And she'd be alone again.

"...I feel sick."

Her stomach turned. Everything was going wrong now. The worst case scenario was coming true.

"Oh? It looks like the 'Zero' is all alone again."

She looked up to see a male student with tan skin and shaggy brown hair standing near her. A few other students were there as well, all males.

"Guess she wasn't good enough for the Mage, right guys?"

Cruel laughter.

She was alone.

* * *

Emiya felt uneasy. The Headmaster's Office was located on the topmost floor of the central tower, far away from the dining hall. That in itself was worrying, but coupled with the sensation that he had missed something earlier, a critical fact that he should not have missed.

"Um... Sir Emiya."

The sound of Siesta's voice took him out of his thoughts.

He blinked. Right. He was with her at the moment. He should not be rude.

"I don't mean to intrude," Siesta continued. "But... why is a Noble like you serving Miss Valliere?"

He sighed.

They were almost to the top floor now.

"I told you, Siesta, I am no Noble, merely someone who protects those who need to be protected."

Siesta frowned. "But... the rumors say you created over a thousand swords when you were summoned. Is that true?"

He nodded. "Yes. But why do you ask?"

"That would make you... upper Square level, would it not? Why serve a young girl who's still learning?" Siesta tilted her head in thought. "If you are someone who protects those who need to be protected, wouldn't your skills be put to better use elsewhere?"

There was a slight plaintive tone in the way she said those words.

More proof that the Nobility here are similar to those he knew.

"Perhaps. But Siesta," Emiya said. "Louise is one who truly needs me. Especially now."

There was that strange sensation again, a sort of gnawing at the back of his mind that he was forgetting something important.

He shook his head. "She is a young girl with great potential. Especially since she summoned me, and not a simple animal."

"So you just want to see her succeed?"

Emiya frowned, considering his words. "Not just that. Louise is... fragile. I haven't known her long, but I can tell that she has no one here to help her."

Siesta looked like she was going to argue with that, but he cut her off.

"She may be a Noble, but from what I can tell her peers and even the teachers do not think highly of her, as if they expect her to fail."

That gave Siesta pause. "...I see. Yes, that makes sense from what I've heard."

Another flash of what he would call 'anger'. "She has no one to turn to, and is surrounded by foes on all sides. Not only that, but she is trapped by her status. That is something I cannot allow."

Siesta smiled, nodding. "She's someone who needs to be protected?"

Emiya smiled as well. "Indeed." That smile quickly faded. "And that is why I don't want to stay away from her long. Something is wrong, I can feel it."

Siesta shook her head. "I'm sure she'll be fine without you for a few moments, Sir Emiya... ah. Here we are."

She came to a halt in front of a door. "The Headmaster should be waiting for you."

A trap. There were three or four Mages in that room, two of a level that could wound him.

He paused.

While he was sure that he couldn't be killed by these mages, wounds would slow him down. And it would be troublesome as well.

"Sir Emiya?"

Siesta gave him a confused look. "The Headmaster's waiting."

No time then. Hesitation would reflect poorly on Louise, as well as waste his time.

Nothing left to do then advance.

He opened the doors and was immediately struck by a wave of magic.

* * *

"Styx. Manican. Ajax."

Louise addressed each of the students in kind, giving them a slight nod. She clutched her wand though, in case things got out of hand.

"What brings you here?"

She ignored their words. They weren't true, and acknowledging them would only draw more trouble towards her.

Styx sneered. "Isn't it obvious, Valliere?"

He laughed. "We want to know what you did to fake your summoning. It's what _everyone's_ talking about."

Again with that. She was right then.

Louise shook her head. "I didn't fake it. He was the one I summoned."

Mocking laughter from the trio of boys.

"Spare us the lies, Valliere. Even if you don't admit it, we know what you did."

A glint in his eyes, and a leer. "Since you wouldn't have enough money to pay for his services, and you have no magic to impress him, it's obvious that you-"

"I suggest you hold your tongue, Styx."

Louise turned towards the newcomer. "...Guiche?"

It was the blonde philanderer. He had been one of those that had ridiculed her in the past, so why was he standing up for her now?

The blonde turned towards Louise, his expression serious for once, and then at the three males. "It's unbecoming to insinuate such things of a lady."

Louise scowled.

Of course. He just wanted to play the hero.

"I don't need your help, Guiche."

Styx scoffed. "What, planning to pursue Valliere as well? Or did she... reward you for standing up, Gramont?"

Louise flushed at that. "As if I'd-"

Guiche narrowed his eyes, deadly serious. "I said. Hold. Your. Tongue."

* * *

Emiya fired off two swords in the direction of the spells.

One was deflected wide by a burst of white hot flames, and the other was brushed aside by wind.

In the next step, he was in the center of the room, armed with an enhanced Annealed Blade. The appearance of the silver long sword was accompanied by Emiya loading 'Nine Lives' from his repository.

"...I told you he was dangerous, Headmaster."

It was the professor from the summoning. Mr. Colbert.

"Indeed you did, Colbert. Indeed you did."

The speaker of those words was an old man. With a long, flowing gray beard and wizened eyes, as well as staff and white robes, he appeared the archetype of an Arch Magus, or a Wizard from Fantasy.

That only put Emiya more on guard.

There was a green-haired woman standing off to the side, and that teacher from Louise's class as well, but they only remained silent and stared at Emiya with wide eyes.

Siesta stepped into the room immediately after and gasped. "What are you doing, Headmaster? Mr. Colbert?"

Ah. So the old man was the Headmaster. How fitting. But even then...

"Why did you attack me?"

Colbert never lowered his staff, the tip still glowing with white flame.

The Headmaster, on the other hand, let out a weary sigh. "We did not intend to. The spells used were only 'Detect Magic' and one to detect compulsions and love potions."

That flash of 'anger' turned into an ember. "...And why would you do that?"

They were trying his patience. And to do such a thing was never a good idea.

Perhaps the Headmaster sensed the hostility in his voice, as the old man held up his hands. "We had to know. You have to admit that summoning a Noble for a familiar is unprecedented, Sir. And for Miss Valliere to do so, especially with her record of failures... well, we wanted to avoid any incidents. And considering you are a fairly handsome young man only a few years older than her..."

Siesta gasped. "Headmaster! You-"

So that was it then. The reason why he was separated from Louise was because they thought he was compelled. No. That wasn't the issue here. What mattered was that they believed it necessary in the first place.

Louise was a kind-hearted individual, and desperately needed support. The Headmaster could have put a stop to the bullying, that much he knew, especially from the feat of magic he had just witnessed. The fact that he didn't, and that he actually _believed_ Louise to be a person that would stoop to such levels...

The air turned frigid. Sharp.

Though he had never experienced it himself, he knew from tales of others that everyone in the room would feel as if a blade was pressed against their neck.

"I see." He turned towards Siesta, who flinched at his intense gaze. "Do you understand now, Siesta? This is why I must be by her side. No one believes her."

"S-sir Emiya..."

He walked out of the room. "I'm returning to my Master now. Pray that she is unharmed in the time that you have wasted."

And then he was gone.

"...That could have gone better." Headmaster Osmond frowned and rubbed at his throat.

Colbert did the same and sighed. "And we still don't know why he's here."

Siesta looked at the two Square mages with disgust. "You... hmph!"

She spun on her heel and walked out, not even bothering to finish her sentence.

Nobles... they really were the worst.

* * *

The dining hall was in an uproar.

The tables had been pushed aside, and the students scattered throughout the halls. Sides were chosen and lines were drawn, with fellow peers fighting against another, either with fists or words.

Chaos.

-But as chaotic as it was, there was a center to the madness.

Louise.

She was trapped against a wall by a tan boy with brown hair and sideburns.

Her wand had been taken away and tossed aside. Even if it hadn't, she couldn't pull her wrists free from Styx's grasp.

Madness. A situation like this shouldn't occur. Even Nobles have standards.

But... there was a limit. Rumors become the truth, and the truth was that Louise was a person who would 'reward' anyone to get what she wanted.

A small rumor blown out of proportion by a casual remark. And to most Nobles, she deserved what would be coming next, especially for enslaving or coercing another to be her familiar.

A sin.

And sinners had to be punished.

Off to the side, Guiche was brawling with the other two boys with Styx. He was one of the few who disagreed, and was putting up a good fight. The fact that he was upholding chivalry pushed him onwards, but the others were older and more experienced. Even coming from a military family, Guiche was losing.

Kirche was another who disagreed, and was running towards Louise.

"Styx!" She drew her wand, consequences be damned. "Stay away from her! I didn't want you to do this!"

Louise struggled to break free, but the older boy was too strong for her. With an almost casual air, he turned towards Kirche. "Oh, that's fine. I do, and I'm sure Valliere doesn't mind. She probably did it for that Noble anyway."

"You idiot!" Kirche was getting closer. "Valliere would never do something like that! She's not me!"

Styx shrugged. "Well, I'll just have to-"

The doors slammed open, and a silver wind blew past them all.

Styx was thrown across the room, crashing into his friends.

The Sword had been drawn.

* * *

"...Are you harmed, Master?"

Louise slumped against the wall. A combination of relief, adrenaline, and fear left her unable to do anything else.

She wrapped her arms around herself and pulled her legs to her chest.

Seeing that, the ember of 'anger' the Sword had turned to a roaring flame.

He scanned the surroundings.

That blonde boy was just getting up from the ground, and brushed blood away from his mouth. He had stood up for Louise when the Sword wasn't there.

He gave the boy a small nod, which he returned.

The red-haired young woman was in mid-stride, wand drawn. It seemed that she had been on the verge of defending Louise as well, even if she had been hostile this morning.

"Louise!"

Genuine concern. The young woman... Kirche, ran past Emiya and approached Louise. "He didn't do anything, did he? I swear to Brimir if that idiot Styx did, I'll..."

Louise shook her head, but didn't talk.

A supporter. Good. He could leave his Master in her care for the time being then.

The aggressors had risen.

"You...! Who do you think you are!" The leader, a young man with sideburns and tan skin scowled. "Did she put you up to this too?"

_Enemy._

No. He couldn't cut him down. Not yet. First...

"Apologize. All of you."

He had to give them the chance. That was protocol.

"...What?" The young man with sideburns narrowed his eyes. "Are you joking?"

"No. Apologize to my Master this instant, and I shall let this slight pass."

The dining hall was deathly silent. Those that were fighting had frozen, smothered by the tension in the air and the Sword's expression.

Even so, the young man who had harassed Louise only laughed. It was quickly joined by the two behind him.

With a haughty expression on his tanned face, he said, "No."

The Sword stepped forward. Twice, the offer had been declined.

Now he could take matters into his own hands.

"Then I demand a duel in recompense. My Master's honor has been harmed, and you have stepped beyond your bounds."

A collective gasp rang out through the crowd.

* * *

A nightmare. Today was a nightmare. The worst nightmare she could have.

Louise hugged herself tighter.

Useless. The moment that Emiya had gone, everything had turned upside down.

She was right. Even if it wasn't true, to the eyes of everyone else, she had committed a fatal sin.

"Louise."

That was Zerbst. She was being kind for once. And Guiche had been as well, standing up for her.

Louise let out a bitter smile. _Couldn't they have done that sooner?_

She shook her head. No, she shouldn't be spiteful. Any ally was good at the moment, especially since the situation was as bad as she had thought it was.

After all, _they_ had just stood by and watched, letting her be alone.

But Emiya was back.

Her familiar... the man she had summoned had returned.

Safe. She was safe. As long as he was here, she would be safe.

"Louise?"

She watched Emiya's back as he stepped towards Styx and his friends.

And then she knew no more, the exhaustion of the day sending her into unconsciousness.

* * *

The Sword could see a glimmer of fear in the boy's eyes.

Good.

That was the way to deal with Nobles. Trap them into a duel with plenty of witnesses and phrase it in a way that they could not refuse.

If he said no, then the boy was shown to be weak, and his status ruined.

If he said yes, Emiya was free to dole as much punishment as he wanted.

Hesitation, but it seemed the boy realized he was trapped.

Nervous laughter. "You're funny, but duels aren't allowed between Mages in the Academy." That turned into a seed of confidence, and the boy's nerves calmed, turning into a cocky air. "Tough luck, but I'm going to have to say no."

Emiya smiled, one that didn't reach his eyes and seemed more like a cut across his face than an expression of happiness or satisfaction. "It is fortunate then that I am a familiar."

He dissolved the front of his armor to reveal the runes.

There. Undeniable proof.

Emiya tilted his head. "So a duel then. Honor must be upheld as you are a Noble, correct?"

The boy growled, and then said, "Fine! I accept!"

This time, a wicked smile crossed Emiya's face. "Good. The time and place is here and now. To the death."

Another gasp throughout the students.

He turned towards the crowd and said, "Clear the area."

And then it was just he and the one who had debased Louise.

An example must be set.

* * *

As the room was cleared, Emiya couldn't help but think of how the teachers didn't step in. How they failed in their job to protect one who needed them the most.

"Prepare yourself, Mage."

The voice of the boy brought him out of his thoughts.

The boy's wand had been raised, and all traces of fear were gone. Instead, there was a cocky arrogance.

Interesting. It seemed that he had forgotten Emiya's display. That or he had written it off as an illusion.

Foolish.

"I am Styx Feneos, the Undertow." He raised his wand, briefly glancing at Kirche.

Ah. So it is not so much underestimation as bravado.

Even more foolish.

"I will send you to a watery grave, Mage."

Emiya raised his arm, selecting the sword to pull forth from that World of His. "I am the Sword of Akasha."

...That would do.

His blade appeared in a flash of light, his Annealed Blade appearing once more in his hands.

Murmurs broke out amongst the students.

"No way... Silver?"

"Isn't that Square-class? And to use it as a sword?"

"It is." That last voice was the blonde who had aided Louise. "And it's not just silver... there's steel in it too."

Styx scoffed. "You think to match me like a commoner, Sword of Akasha? Fine."

He waved his wand, tendrils of water gathering around the tip. "Then die like one!"

A barrage of razor sharp water surged towards Emiya.

He narrowed his eyes, and time ground to a halt, compressed under a mind of steel.

It would not do to just kill him. That would only show Emiya to be a blood-thirsty demon and further damage Louise's reputation.

No. He would break everything sent his way and then force the boy to beg for mercy.

Time resumed.

The Sword advanced, and a blur of steel cut the watery whips.

Styx growled. "So your name isn't just for show... fine! Let me show you why I'm called the Undertow!"

A surge of energy gathered in the boy's wand.

It was impressive for one his age. The towering pillar of water he held was equally impressive.

...But it wasn't enough.

"Meet your maker, Sword!"

Water surged.

Emiya held up his hand.

* * *

Louise opened her eyes.

"..liere? Valliere? Are you awake?"

A voice. Familiar, but one she wasn't used to hearing in that concerned tone.

Kirche let out a sigh of relief, and then focused. "You have to stop your familiar! He's dueling Styx to the death!"

"What?"

That cleared Louise's mind as the past events raced through her head.

Emiya leaving to meet the Headmaster, Styx assaulting her and Guiche, though he thankfully didn't get anywhere, and then Emiya's return-

"Oh no."

She saw it. A swirling mass of water, rushing towards Emiya. Even if he was a skilled Earth Mage, against Water-!

"Emiya!"

It crashed, and water flooded the stone floor of the dining hall. More than a few students were swept aside as the spell continued.

"That's... he's not holding back." Kirche shook her head. "Stupid Styx."

Louise turned her gaze back to the duel. The water had encased Emiya, a continuing cascade that pressed down on him. Even if he could cast spells, against something like that, he would drown.

He would drown.

"No..."

* * *

The Sword narrowed his eyes.

_This has gone on long enough_.

No matter how much the teachers turned a blind eye, after a spell like that was cast, even they were sure to come running.

He had to finish this now. That was likely the boy's finishing spell, so there was no point in playing around any longer.

He swung his sword, and the water splashed to the ground as the makeup of the spell broke.

Emiya could see the boy take a step back in surprise, which turned to fear.

Another spell was on his lips as he raised his wand.

Emiya crossed the distance in a flash.

Numerous razor sharp whips launched towards Emiya, too fast to dodge and too numerous to cut at once.

Blood splattered to the ground, and flesh was severed.

The duel had finished.

* * *

This is the Tiger Dojo. Take the advice?

Note. Tiger Dojo is a strange hint corner. If you would like to finish the story by yourself, or if you would like to keep the characters' images, please be warned.

1\. Yes

2\. No

* * *

**Tiger Dojo**

Ilya smiled and waved. "Welcome back, Reader-san!"

"Yosh!" Taiga clapped her hands. "Welcome back to the Tiger Dojo!"

A somber expression crossed her face. "Poor Louise-chan. Everything's just gone terrible for her."

Ilya nodded, also somber. "Why did they do that, Sensei? How come no one helped her?"

Taiga sighed. "It's the Noble pride. While a few, like Guiche-kun, uphold chivalry and refuse to allow such a fate to occur, the rest thought Louise had seriously done something wrong. Even the Headmaster and Colbert thought so."

Ilya frowned. "But... they're Nobles? Shouldn't they prevent something like that?"

Taiga nodded. "They should... but then again, no one's summoned another Noble, or even a Mage as a familiar before. Combined with Louise-chan's failure rate, they thought that she had resorted to more... illicit affairs."

Ilya growled. "Stupid!"

"Yes. Really stupid. And now they're going to have to deal with an angry 'Sword' after the duel... as well as Louise's mom."

"...Oh." Ilya gave wicked grin. "That's not going to end well for them, is it?"

Taiga matched her grin. "Not at all, my student. Not at all. As harsh as she might be, Louise's mom still cares for her."

She sobered. "But the more important matter should be..."

She raised a fist towards the sky. "Why are you so mean, Wizard! Just because you can do it, doesn't mean you should make things so dark this early! Sure, summoning a Noble has repercussions, but really!? Really?!"

"Um... Sensei?"

"And what's with the blatantly evil student? Couldn't you just have used Guiche-kun or done something lighter? Come on! There isn't even a basis for Styx to be a water user!"

"Sensei, I really think you should-"

"You've got a lot to answer for Wi- Oh."

A notecard was floating in front of her.

'No ranting, or else you'll be stuck in an... embarrassing situation next time.'

"Hah!" Taiga laughed. "You think that scares me, Wizard? The truth must- mmph!"

Ilya waved with one hand, the other clamped over Taiga's mouth. "That's all for now, Reader-san! We'll see you next time! Bye!"

And then the dojo faded from view, darkness filling the void once more.

**End Tiger Dojo **

* * *

A/N: Well... that went darker than expected. Um... yeah. This might be a bit much, but at the same time I kinda like the way this is. Though I'm not sure if it's pushing it or not... thoughts on that would be very much appreciated. Like if this is realistic, or if I veered off track.

...Yeah. Not much more to say here. Got through breakfast and class one. Met the Headmaster. The Sword got ticked off, and his impression of Nobility just plummeted.

And Styx was the sacrificial sheep.

Well, maybe. I'll leave you guys to guess how the duel ended for the time being.

I hope it was a good read, and remember to leave a review. I greatly appreciate the feedback, and it helps me improve this story for the future. While I might take a while in responding to them, since I'm even busier recently, know that I do read each one. I would add though that if you have a burning question to send a PM, since it's kinda hard to keep track of every review that I've answered/still need to answer.

Yeah.

Until the next!


	5. Sword of Origin: Aftermath

_**Sword of Origin: Aftermath**_

Emiya stood, blood dripping from the shallow slashes that the wind spells had carved along his arms. Beneath him was the corpse of the boy that had dared to try and harm Louise, dead for all his bravado.

It had all gone to the boy's head, and now that was gone, forever frozen in an expression of fearful shock.

Emiya flicked the blood off his blade and looked at the corpse with a bit of regret. He had wanted to make the boy beg for his life, not kill him outright. He might have even let him off with a severed hand or arm. That would have vindicated Louise.

And the message would have been clear; those that laid a hand on Louise would lose it. Short, simple, and relatively bloodless.

Of course, the boy's life had been forfeit when someone decided to interfere.

He turned around, his blade still in hand, and glared at the source of the spells. Not out of pain, no. The winds, while sharp, were nothing to him and was on par with an irate woman scratching someone with her nails.

Bloody and irritating, but nothing serious.

"...The last people to interfere in one of my duels were met with a rain of a hundred swords." He glared at the young girl with blue-green hair and the wizened old man standing by her side. Both had their staves pointed at him.

"Too late," the girl said.

Emiya blinked. So she had intended to stop him? And from the fact that the Headmaster was by her side, it seemed that she decided to get backup as well.

A flash of 'anger' again. She was Louise's peer, and a girl at that. She would also have been present for the start of the events... she should have sympathized.

He released that line of thought.

Steel. His mind was of steel.

The situation could not afford irrationality.

He didn't know what was derailing his thoughts, but he had to focus.

The Headmaster was looking at the devastated dining hall. He frowned at the flooded area and then narrowed his eyes when he saw the crimson slowly spreading throughout it.

Only the barest of glances was spared to the corpse, though Emiya caught a flicker of shock and remorse in the old man's face, while the man's attention shifted to Louise, who was wide-eyed and being comforted by Kirche.

The Headmaster sighed, but never lowered his staff. "It seems that we were, young Tabitha, despite the speed of your Wind Dragon and warning."

The old man looked around at his students, each with varying expressions of shock, disgust, fear, or outright terror, and then said, "To your dorms, all of you. The other teachers have already been informed and will remain on patrol throughout the rest of the night to ensure your safety."

At that, most of the students fled the scene, scampering away like terrified rabbits before a wolf.

It amused Emiya a bit, especially when the accomplices of Styx tried to leave with them.

A cage of swords stopped that. He couldn't let them off quite yet, not after standing behind the foul boy.

Emiya felt wind gathering and turned to see the Headmaster glaring at him. "Release them."

He pointedly ignored the old man and surveyed the dining hall.

Louise was sitting by Kirche against a wall and looked sick. The red-head herself seemed a bit off color, but was otherwise fine.

It seemed like she, at least, wasn't a stranger to death while his Master was.

Interesting.

The girl with blue-green hair had moved to stand by Kirche's side, eyes sharp and observant. Like the Headmaster, her staff was pointed directly at Emiya, ready to cast at a moment's notice.

The blonde boy who stood up for Louise was missing. Likely to get treated for his wounds. He hadn't been one of the students running in fear, now that Emiya thought back to the mass exodus. There was potential there, that was sure.

"I said, release them." The Headmaster's voice was sharp, dangerously so.

The tone brought Emiya out of his thoughts.

Were he a simple human, he might have been intimidated. As it was, the tone of voice only irritated him.

"Not until they apologize to Louise... and have been dealt the appropriate punishment."

Like a cursed scar or two on the face. That would do it.

The wind picked up, and he felt mana build in the Headmaster's wooden staff.

Emiya raised his sword, prepared to counter any attack.

And then the doors to the dining hall burst open as Colbert and Siesta dashed in.

Both stopped when they saw the corpse lying at Emiya's feet.

Emiya sighed. Troublesome. Too many witnesses and diverging opinions to silence with his blade.

And Louise looked to be in shock.

Before anyone could so much as blink, Emiya shattered the cage of swords surrounding the two boys. For the most part, they were fine, though a few stray fragments might have 'accidently' lacerated their faces.

As expected, a flurry of spells, fire and wind, flew towards him. And as expected, they did little to no damage.

While deemed a threat, none of the Mages were going all out in trying to end his life.

Foolish.

"You two," he said to the scarred boys. "Apologize to her, now."

A pair of frantic nods and shuffling feet. They would be tripping over their own legs to appease Emiya now after what they had seen.

Not exactly the outcome he wanted or had in mind when he started the duel, but it would do for the moment.

With that done, he turned to meet the pair of furious Square Mages.

There were words to be exchanged between them.

* * *

Emiya was in the Headmaster's office again, along with the Headmaster himself and that Professor Colbert. But unlike last time, Siesta and the other mages weren't present. Instead, Louise was here, lying down on a conjured bed and curled up in slumber.

Notably, that bed was behind both of the powerful Mages before him and behind the Headmaster's desk.

Colbert was standing directly in front of her and held his staff at the ready, eyes narrowed and prepared to act at the slightest hint of danger from Emiya.

The headmaster was seated at his desk with his hands laced together. A complete and serious air was about him, giving him the appearance of an all powerful supreme Magus.

Emiya forced away the irrational 'anger' that flared up. He hadn't noticed it earlier in the duel, but under these circumstances he could, and did.

He would need the cool nature of steel for this confrontation.

The headmaster spoke, a severe tone underlying the grandfatherly voice. "Who are you?"

Emiya considered the question. He had given his title and true name earlier in the duel, an act of irrationality that would not happen again if he could help it. Still, he doubted that the old man would accept anything less than the truth, and seemed skilled in detecting falsehoods. Or rather, it seemed the old man was looking for an excuse to pin blame on Emiya.

Eventually, Emiya said, "Louise's summoned familiar and her Sword."

That caused a scoff from the Headmaster, though Colbert did nothing in response to Emiya's words. It seemed that the fire Mage had decided to adopt a 'wait and watch' approach now.

Like before, when he didn't hold back the insults from Louise's peers.

Another flash of 'anger'.

He suppressed it.

"I meant your name, boy. We already know that you're Miss Valliere's 'Familiar'."

Emiya briefly considered the feasability of erasing the impertinent old man from existance, but discarded the thought.

Too much effort for a trifling matter, not to mention the setback in his abilties the action would cause.

"He asked you a question."

That was from Colbert. It seemed the man was growing impatient.

"...Emiya."

That would be all they got from him. Such unreliable men did not deserve to know the full name of his Maker.

After seeing that he wouldn't be forthcoming with more information, the Headmaster nodded. "Emiya, then."

The old man narrowed his eyes. "Now Emiya. Why did you challenge a student in a politically neutral academy to a duel to the death?"

Probing for information. Likely on the assumption that he was an outside agent, judging from the emphasis of 'politically neutral'.

"He deserved it."

Nothing more, nothing less.

A raised brow from the headmaster. "Pray tell, Emiya."

Emiya blinked. "...You're joking."

That couldn't be right. You would have to be blind not to understand the situation that had occurred.

"My Master was almost forced to do unspeakable things in the middle of an occupied lunch room! Not only that, it could easily have been prevented had there been teachers to chaperone!"

He glowered at the Headmaster and Colbert, but this time they didn't flinch.

"You exaggerate the situation, Emiya." The Headmaster shook his head. "From Miss Zerbst's report, and that of the other students, the situation would have been prevented from going that far. Miss Zerbst herself was in the process of disabling the now departed Styx Feneos, and Chevalier Tabitha would have done so had Miss Zerbst failed."

Tabitha...? Ah, that must have been the name of the blue-haired girl. Even so-

"No, I do not."

There was an urge, the grating of the steel inside his body to cut down this foolish old man where he stood.

Again, Emiya suppressed it.

Barely.

He glanced at Louise, who was curled protectively around a pillow, her legs tucked close to her chest.

"And you have no right to speak," Emiya said. "Especially considering what my Master has endured while studying at your 'academy'."

The Headmaster closed his eyes for a moment, as if suppressing his emotions, and then said, "What I do is for the future of Tristain and the students." He opened his eyes and fixed an intense gaze on Emiya. "One of whom you have murdered in plain sight of the others!"

A spark of lightning and slight rustling of wind filled the room.

"Murder?" Emiya laughed. "No. That boy knew what he was getting into. A duel is made of one's volition. Had he declined, he would not have died."

A loud bang echoed throughout the room.

"An unsanctioned duel! He was a student, and you, Emiya, are a fully grown and powerful Square-class Mage! Do you even understand what you have done?"

The wind and lightning increased.

Colbert's eyes widened at the sight, though they narrowed again and he adjusted his grip on his staff.

Combat seemed inevitable-

"No... stay away from me!"

Louise's panicked voice cut throughout the wind.

Emiya snapped his gaze towards her to see his young Master turning on the bed, clearly distraught.

He walked towards her.

Colbert raised that staff, fire again gathered on its tip.

Emiya ignored it.

"You are going nowhere with Miss Valliere until-"

In an instant, Emiya had grabbed Louise and now held her in a bridal hold.

To the Mages, it looked like nothing more than a flash of silver.

"...We are done here. This farce has gone long enough."

He turned his back on the two mages. They seemed fit to sweep the incident under the rug, and were actually defending the vile boy.

A wave of magic, wind and fire. Non-lethal and meant to incapacitate, but it would have severely wounded an ordinary human.

Still, they were not taking him seriously.

Steel cut through the air, sundering the bonds that gathered the mana incorporated in the spells.

"Impossible..."

That was the Headmaster's muttered voice.

He ignored it and continued on his way. "We will continue this conversation tomorrow, when my Master is awake and both of you have considered the situation more. Good bye."

A silver blur was the only sign that Emiya had been in the room.

* * *

Osmond sighed and leaned back in his chair. His right hand rubbed his forehead, trying in vain to stem the incoming migraine.

"...That didn't go as planned," Colbert said. "Again."

The middle-aged fire user stared at the open doors, a strange expression on his face.

"Indeed," Osmond said. "It seems that young Louise's familiar is as prone to violence as her spells are."

He shook his head.

How did it get out of hand so fast? Colbert had informed Osmond earlier of the possible backlash of Louise's summoning, especially when she had summoned a person who appeared to be an extremely talented Mage. Creating over a thousand swords at once was no small feat, that much Osmond knew, and only General Gramont could boast a similar ability, but even the famed General was capable of only a couple hundred at best.

"Did you notice, Headmaster?"

Colbert's strange words brought him out of his thoughts. "What is it?"

The middle-aged fire user frowned. "That young man... Emiya. None of his magic was performed with a wand. And when I used detect magic..."

Osmond nodded. He knew exactly what Colbert was talking about, and that was what worried him the most.

Normally, the spell 'Detect Magic' was used to determine if something was magical. Namely an appraisal spell commonly used on artifacts to determine if they are enchanted or not.

Used on items, the user is able to see a sort of 'aura' around it if magic is present. The colors present and the intensity of the aura corresponded to the elemental alignment of the magic it possessed.

Red for 'Fire', Blue for 'Water', Green for 'Wind', Yellow for 'Earth', Black for 'Void', and then White for 'Ancient Magic'.

Unfortunately, this categorization wasn't as clear cut on living beings. Due to the fluctuating nature of inherent magic rather than the stable nature of completed enchantments, at best, the caster of 'detect magic' would only be able to see the strength of the target's magic by the intesity of the light around them, which was an unidentifiable color.

Emiya's light had been blinding... and a pure Silver.

"...We will have to keep an eye on young Louise," Osmond muttered.

Colbert nodded.

Osmond sighed again.

Silver, a metallic shade of gray. A ruthless young man called 'Emiya' whose runic name was the 'Sword of Akasha'.

Louise, the youngest daughter of Karin the Heavy Wind. A young girl whose spells ended in explosive failures... and yet had summoned a young man capable of Square-class if not greater magic.

A young girl whose mother was extremely over-protective and capable of rending castle walls with a single spell.

A young girl who was accused of illicit affairs without proof, was almost subjected to a young man's desires, and who had seemingly bound an extremely competent combat-oriented Mage against his will, who was now subservient to the extent he was willing to kill a young man in plain sight before other children.

The old man suppressed a groan and rubbed his forehead again, trying in vain to stop the incoming migraine.

Karin wasn't going to be happy about this, not one bit...

* * *

This is the Tiger Dojo. Take the advice?

Note. Tiger Dojo is a strange hint corner. If you would like to beat the game by yourself, or if you would like to keep the characters' images, please be warned.

1\. Yes

2\. No

* * *

**Tiger Dojo**

"E-eh? I have to wear this?!"

Ilya sighed at Taiga's antics. "He warned you, Sensei. Really, you should know better than to disagree with the Wizard."

"B-but, I'm... I mean something like_ this_...!"

Ilya narrowed her eyes. "Sensei. Reader-san's waiting for you. Come on already."

Taiga let out a deep sigh and stepped out from a curtained corner of the dojo.

Pink. That was the immediate impression one would get from seeing the outfit she wore. Frilly and lacy would be the next.

Taiga smoothed down the front of her skirt, cheeks flushed. Unlike her typical hakama, fit for kendo, Taiga was dressed in an outfit that could have come straight out of a 'magical girl' anime.

Which it did. Madoka's, to be exact.

"W-welcome to the Tiger Dojo..."

"Yosh!" Ilya's energetic shout made up for her Sensei's weak greeting. "Welcome back, Reader-san!"

Taiga tugged at her collar and chest. "So tight..."

Ilya ignored her Sensei and said, "So the Wizard would like to apologize for the wait and short chapter. He's been really sick recently, as well as occupied with certain events in his life."

"Hah!" Taiga jabbed a finger towards the ceiling. "Serves you right, you-"

Ilya bopped her Sensei on the head and continued. "Anyway, he hopes that this makes up a bit for the absence, and he'll do his best to get a more comprehensive chapter out soon."

Taiga glared at Ilya, but then sighed. "There's no helping it I guess... Ahem." She turned towards the front. "So, Reader-san! There've been a lot of mixed responses to Louise's plight."

Ilya nodded. "The situation escalated really fast."

"Right." Taiga nodded. "But more importantly, why didn't Colbert and the Headmaster do anything to stop it? And where was Tabitha?"

"Mmhm." Ilya nodded. "We see a bit of that here. To anyone wondering, Tabitha went to get the Headmaster as soon as the situation started. She hopped on her dragon and went straight up to get them as soon as those jerks started their move. Emiya had a bit of a head start though, so he made it down before Tabitha could get the Headmaster."

"And then that jerk got his head chopped off!"

"Sensei!" Ilya pursed her lips. "You shouldn't talk ill of the dead!"

"Pft!" Taiga crossed her arms, or at least started to. The pink outfit she was wearing was too tight though, and she settled for lowering them instead, so that it wouldn't tear apart. "He deserved it. Although..." Taiga frowned. "How come Emiya was damaged, Ilya? I would have thought that someone like him would only be harmed by Void magic or the elves, if anything?"

Ilya raised her eyebrow. "And you know that because...?"

"H-hey!" Taiga pouted. "I read the script too, you know!"

Ilya shook her head, then turned back to the front. "I suppose Reader-san is wondering too... well, the Wizard left an explanation sheet here, so why don't you look at that?"

She pulled out a piece of paper from her bloomers and held it out.

* * *

_For pure damage calculations, assume a ranked scale E-A. E is equal to 10, D is 20, C is 30, B is 40, and A is 50. A '+' adds the equivalent amount of the current rank, i.e. 'A+'=50+50=100. This number is a multiplier based on the average person's ability._

_Sword of Akasha has resistance to A-ranked spells and below while focusing on defense and not using his pool of prana for any other abilities. This means he has a resistance of 50._

_In Halkeginia, the magic is similar to that of Gaia's, but on a different measuring scale. Dot ranked magic is equal to 20, or D if on Gaia's scale, Line is 40, Triangle is 60, and Square is 80. Basically a '20' increase for every tier of magic. _

_Void is 100, the hexagon combination of the Royal Family 120, and Void with the Heart of God would be 140._

_Ancient Magic does pure damage of 50, regardless of resistance._

_The magic in ZnT is stronger, since Brimir found a way to engraft a system that speaks directly to the World to enact the miracles. A mad genius, he connected his System to the Major Leylines of Halkegnia. Because of this, the fact that said system has been around for 6000 years and believed throughout the continent, and because they are utilizing the world's mana to execute spells rather than one's od means that the spells are much stronger than the average magus of the Clock Tower._

_Now, this matters only in terms of resistance to the spell itself. Since Emiya's Magic Resistance is 50, that means that only Triangle mages and above would be able to harm him. 60-50=10, after all. However, that 10 that's left over is further influenced by his body's resistance to the physical phenomena that the spell was meant to create. Emiya's endurance is B, which means a body with an endurance 40 times greater than an average person. _

_So, while the spell is 10 times greater than what a normal person could deal with, it's nothing more than a scratch against Emiya's body._

_Square magic could wound him, and Void magic could end him since the pure damage surpasses his endurance, but the length of the chant for a fully powered spell makes the odds of it happening low._

* * *

Ilya sighed. "These upstart brats have it too good, don't you think, Reader-san?"

Taiga nodded, and then paled as she looked at a clock. "Ehe... haven't we passed the alotted time, Ilya-chan?"

Ilya glanced at the clock and gasped. "Oh no."

"Sorry, but that's all for the Tiger Dojo!" Ilya made a swift bow. "Until the next, Reader-san! Bye!"

And then she ran off, leaving Taiga behind.

"W-wait, Ilya! I still need to change!"

The Dojo was quickly fading away.

"Don't leave meeeee!"

And then it was dark.

**End Tiger Dojo**

* * *

A/N: Not much here, I'm afraid. Still recovering from sudden onset of illness, and haven't had chance to answer any reviews. Hope this was enjoyable though, and I'll do my best to get more for both this and 'A Different Path' when I can.

Thanks for reading, and until the next.


	6. Sword of Origin: Ramifications

_**Sword of Origin: Ramifications**_

* * *

A man in black robes watched as 'Emiya Shirou' left the Headmaster's office carrying a slumbering young girl. However, it seemed that this Emiya Shirou was different than the one that he remembered, with a demeanor more like Kiritsugu in his prime rather than the naive idealist he recalled meeting in the Fifth Grail War.

"Interesting..."

The man wasn't physically present at the moment, as the events in Tristain Academy were but one of many plays he had unfolding, but his familiar, one he made from a black crow, observed it all with a scrutinizing eye.

"It seems that fate has brought us together yet again, Emiya Shirou." A smile crossed the man's face, though it didn't reach his hollow eyes. "I wonder how you will react when you realize it?"

The man smirked as he played with the runes burned on his left hand. "When you realize that another 'Grail' has been made?"

The crow flew away, leaving no hint of the one that had cast a spell over the Academy behind.

* * *

Emiya gently set Louise down on her bed. He hadn't wasted any time in returning her to her room, away from the fearful eyes of her peers and the machinations of the manipulative Headmaster.

Just thinking about that old man set Emiya on edge.

A sacrifice. That was clearly what the Headmaster had intended for his Master to be. If it were not so, then the old man would have intervened before today. A situation like what had occurred earlier would never have occurred if the old man hadn't wanted it to.

He was a Wind Mage, and those aligned to that particular element were bound to have at least one method of scrying available. As the Headmaster of a 'politically neutral' Academy, Emiya doubted that the old man was unaware of the cruelty that Louise had been enduring.

A sacrifice. Someone to be cast away without hesitation to let the majority continue on their way. To maintain the status quo.

The very thought of his Master being treated like that, of perhaps even being _groomed_ to be that...

The ideal that the original Emiya Shirou followed, both the one before and the one after his change, would never have allowed for it. And for the remnant that was His Sword, it was even more intolerable.

His Master was so frail, so vulnerable. Looking at her now, shivering and clutching her sheets tight to her chest as if to hide from the world, it made him curse the world itself.

No, not the world. That wasn't the source of this corruption. No, the ones responsible for his Master ending up like this were...

"Nobles." Emiya said the word like he would a curse. "No matter what world or time, they remain the same, don't they?"

Louise flinched and Emiya stiffened, fearing that he had woken his young Master. A moment passed, and she went back to her troubled slumber.

He sighed and placed his hand on her forehead. It was hot, and she didn't stop shifting in her sleep, but she did calm down a little.

"It's alright, Master." Emiya gently patted her head. "I'll protect you, so rest well."

His words were soft, meant to be a placating gesture to the restless girl, but instead of calming her, they woke her.

At first, Louise looked confused, her eyes glazed as she took in her surroundings.

Then she saw Emiya and they widened to the size of saucers.

He didn't show any reaction, but he felt a strange 'pull' in his chest at that sight. Did she fear him as well?

Louise scrambled backwards on her bed, trying to put as much space as she could between her and Emiya. She even pulled the covers up to her chin, all the while looking like a deer that had caught sight of a wolf.

Emiya put on a calm smile and moved his hand towards her. "Master, are you-"

"STAY AWAY FROM ME!"

Utter silence.

"...As you wish."

Emiya lowered his hand and then turned around, walking towards the door to the hallway. "I will keep watch outside, Master. Rest well."

"W-wait, Emiya." Louise's voice was regretful, and concerned. "I- I didn't mean-"

Emiya turned back and gave Louise that same calm smile. "Good night."

And then he left the room.

Even if she didn't want him, he would still protect her.

* * *

Louise stared at the door long after Emiya had left the room. She had been dazed when she woke up, still caught in the shadows of her nightmares. When she saw Emiya, instinct kicked in before her rational mind could, and the only thing she saw was the merciless... no. Not merciless.

If Emiya had wanted to be merciless, he would have created his swords from the start and not let Styx anywhere near him.

That wasn't what had scared her. No, it was the complete lack of emotion Emiya had when he killed Styx that scared her.

Not contempt, like what her mother would have had.

Not anger, like what Eleanore would have had.

Nor disgust, like what Cattleya would have had.

Nothing. The action had been a reflex, more than anything, and that was what scared her.

Intellectually, Louise knew that Emiya would protect her. The fact that he had plenty of opportunities to kill her since they arrived, and that he had refrained from doing so reinforced that thought. The additional fact that he defended her at every opportunity was even more proof that she was safe with him.

But... while her mind might know that, a more base part of her couldn't comprehend it.

What kind of person ends a life as easily as breathing?

Louise shook her head and sank down into her bed.

Thinking about these things wouldn't help. As much as she wanted otherwise, some part of her still didn't believe Emiya would protect her.

Some part of her still believed she wasn't worth protecting and deserved what had happened.

The actions of Styx and the others came to mind.

She... would have been... if Emiya hadn't been there...

A dark spiral of thoughts started to turn in Louise's mind, doubt layering over doubt and fears reinforcing beliefs of no self worth.

A burden. That was all she was.

She thought that summoning Emiya would have changed things. That having a powerful familiar, even if he was a Noble, would have let her be free from the curse of being a 'Zero'. That it was a sign she still had some worth to this world.

No. Instead, she had been a burden to Emiya, and now the entire Academy. With a Germanian student dead because of her Familiar, official duel or not, in this political climate there were bound to be repercussions.

Repercussions that would reach all the way to the Royal Family and her own family.

Her fault.

Because of her failures. Because she couldn't do anything. Because everything she tried went wrong.

Louise stared at the window, and a thought crossed her mind.

_Maybe I should..._

* * *

_...Leave her._

That thought crossed Emiya's mind more than once as he leaned against the door to Louise's room.

It had been fear on her face. Genuine fear, and the source of it had been him.

Thinking about that caused him to sigh. Now, when he thought he had found someone who would trust him to protect them, it turned out that when he actually did, that trust turned to fear.

Maybe she was just suffering from a nightmare? Louise had just woken up when she saw him, and she had witnessed some admittedly brutal actions from him today.

Emiya shook his head. No, that was just wishful thinking on his part. Considering the countless others he tried to protect who had done the same, thinking that Louise would be different was nothing more than pointless conjecture.

He let out a sigh, and then returned to his vigil.

When Emiya had left the Headmaster's office, the sun had already been setting. Now, the moon had taken its place and the bright sky replaced by a dark night.

Louise had been quiet since he stepped outside, probably sleeping considering the emotional turmoil she must have experienced today, and Emiya had done his duty as her Servant and kept a silent watch outside so she could rest.

Considering how late it was, he didn't see any of the other students during his time standing there, though that might have had more to do with the recent death of a student than the time of the day.

"Oh?"

A voice called out, bringing him out of his thoughts. When he looked to the source of the voice, he saw Kirche climbing up the stairwell.

She looked tired, but when she caught his eye still managed to put on a passable energetic smile. "You're still up, Emiya?"

Slightly teasing, no doubt an attempt to lighten the somber mood. The use of his name was also an attempt at familiarity. Actually, it was probably used more in general friendliness rather than her trying to be overly familiar. Part of her nature, perhaps, though he didn't bother using his eyes to confirm it.

"Kirche." He returned her greeting with a light nod.

Her smile brightened a bit when he said that, though Emiya could see that she restrained herself a bit.

It seemed his first impression and day at the academy had left quite a mark on the girl.

"I'm flattered." The red-haired girl let out a sigh and then placed her right hand on her chest, and her left arm on her head, like a damsel in distress. "To think that a powerful noble like yourself remembered my name..."

Emiya couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the act. Even knowing the girl for only a day, and speaking with her for less than a few minutes, the most of that done while he was threatening her, he could tell that this behavior was out of character.

He was proven right when she sidled up next to him, pressing her considerable assets against his arm.

"...Death threats and violence doesn't really faze you, does it, Ms. Zerbst?"

His words only caused her to lean in closer. "Back to using my family name, hm? I like it_._"

Those last words were breathy, and definitely meant to be sultry.

Emiya didn't sigh, knowing that would only encourage someone with Kirche's personality. He thought that using her last name in a formal manner would be enough, but it seemed she was one of _those_ women, who would do anything to have him under her thumb.

Like the Queen, though presumably with much less violence and A-ranked magic.

"Ms. Zerbst, I would have you know that-"

The sudden proximity of Kirche's head and her arms around his neck startled him enough to stop his words.

In the next instant, he had the image of a sword in his mind prepared and was in the middle of tracing it to fend off the wily woman when she said, "Who are you, Emiya? Really?"

There was a wand pressed against his chest, and from the expression on Kirche's face, it seemed she wasn't afraid to use it.

Kirche pressed her advantage and continued speaking. "A spy? Romalian maybe, trying to pin blame on the Valliere family in this time of crisis?"

She jabbed her wand a bit against his chest and looked at him with narrowed eyes. "Styx was upset when I told him how you reacted to me this morning, but even an idiot like him wouldn't have tried to violate Valliere. Who. Are. You!?"

"...So you aren't just another girl trying to seduce me. I'm surprised. You had me completely fooled."

Kirche's eyes widened at his nonchalant response, then narrowed to dangerous slits. "Do you even understand the situation you're in? Before you can even get out a single sword, you'll be toast!"

Emiya only smiled. "I understand completely. And in hindsight, I guess my actions have been a bit... questionable. But Ms. Zerbst." His smile twisted into a sharp grin. "You're a few hundred years too young to be able to harm me."

Before she could respond, the situation had been reversed, and it was Kirche who was pressed against the door.

For a brief moment, Emiya realized that this was the exact position that Louise had been pinned earlier, but he didn't let that bother him too much.

He would _never_ do _anything_ like what that boy had planned to do to Louise.

"You-!"

Kirche struggled against his hold, but the most she did was crash against the door behind her.

Emiya shook his head and stepped back, though he took the wand away from Kirche as he did. "Why don't we start this over, Ms. Zerbst, on a calmer note?"

The only response he got from the girl was a pointed glare.

Emiya sighed. "If it helps any, I swear that I have no intentions of harming the Valliere family, nor am I a Romalian spy, whatever that is."

He paused and then cast a suspicious look on the girl. "Hold on. Why would you care what happens to Louise's family? This morning you were anything but sympathetic."

A twinge of guilt, but that was quickly hidden underneath a haughty mask and a scoff. "I don't know about the Valliere, but the Zerbst would never stand for having their rivals cut down by a third party."

"...I see."

In other words, she was trying to repent for having ignored Louise, as well as some familial obligation of sorts.

Someone he didn't have to eliminate and perhaps... an ally.

He gave her a calm smile. "It appears we have the same goal then. Let's start over."

If Kirche was shocked by his sudden change in demeanor, she didn't show it. Instead, she smoothed her dress and tossed her hair to the side. "Hmph. I don't have any choice in the matter, do I?"

"You can be an enemy if you want, though I would prefer not to eliminate any supporters of my Master, as few as they already are."

That got a response from the red-haired young woman, and she nodded. "Fine."

She held out a hand. "Kirche von Zerbst. My runic name is the 'Ardent'."

Emiya took it, filing away the fact that she used a more masculine gesture, contrary to what he would expect of Nobles in this setting. "Emiya Shirou, the familiar of Louise. I don't have a runic name, but if I did, 'the Sword of Akasha' would be fitting."

Kirche blinked. "Eh? Valliere actually summoned you as a familiar?"

He nodded and then dissolved his armor, showing the runic markings burned on his chest.

Surprisingly, Kirche focused more on the runes than his bare chest, as he thought she would. It seemed that he had indeed misjudged the young woman, and unfairly at that.

After a few moment, Kirche shook her head and straightened. "Well, leave it to Valliere to do something as ridiculous as binding a Square-class mage for a familiar."

Kirche leaned against the door and tilted her head to the side, examining Emiya. "But in that case, where are you from, Emi-"

She cut off her words, suddenly alert.

Seeing that, Emiya did the same. "What's wro-"

She held up her hand for silence and pressed her ear against the door.

Emiya couldn't do the same, but he reinforced his hearing to achieve the same effect, and then stiffened as he heard what had caught Kirche's attention.

"...I have been evil from the day I was born; from the time I was conceived, I have been sinful."

His Master's voice, soft and pleading.

"That's weird," Kirche said. "Why would Valliere be praying for forgiveness?"

Emiya didn't respond, focusing on his Master's voice. It was more distant than it would be if she was at her bed. And there was the sound of... wind?

"...Let me be pure again in the next life, Founder, and forgive me for this sin."

The sound of rustling cloth, like curtains being brushed aside-

"MOVE!"

Kirche stumbled as Emiya pushed her aside. "Hey, what's the big idea-?"

The prayer for forgiveness. The sound of wind.

His Master's self-esteem was already fragile when he met her. After the events of today, there was only one conclusion that it all added up to...

He slammed the door open and scanned the room. Empty, with only the sight of billowing curtains in front of an open window greeting him.

There was no hesitation. In a flash of silver and all the speed his reinforced body gave him, Emiya dashed towards the window, intending on reaching Louise before she hit the ground-

Pain, a tearing sensation in his chest and a heavy drain on his reserves.

Before he could make it to the window, Emiya dropped like a puppet with cut strings, the runes on his chest blazing with light.

And then the light faded and he knew no more.

* * *

You never know what you had until it's gone. A saying that Louise had heard but never really understood.

Now, plummeting to her death after jumping out of her window, she finally understood what it meant.

Live. She wanted to live.

Even after all that had happened, even after the dark thoughts that had gripped her mind, she wanted to live.

But it was too late.

The ground was fast approaching, that unforgiving earth below her, and she didn't have a second chance.

A mistake. She screwed up, just like everything else since she arrived at the Academy.

All her spells ended in failure. Her attempt at making friends only made enemies. And now, when she had chosen to end it all, she found out that she didn't want to. That, despite how terrible it all was, despite how much of a burden she felt she was to her family, the Academy, and now Emiya, she wanted to _live_.

Ah. She had forgotten about that fact when she jumped. If she died, what would happen to him?

He was strong, that was assured. He was also very skilled at using his magic. But he was far from home, and from the interactions she had with him, Louise believed that he had nothing left even if he returned to Germania.

And that wasn't even considering the tense political climate at the time, what with Albion on the verge of falling.

It was night, so there was no one there to save her. Even if there was, Louise was falling too fast now for even the levitation spell to stop.

_You know that I will protect you, Louise?_

There it was. The biggest regret. She had just met him, Emiya, the other day. Even so, he had offered her just as much support as Cattleya, her older sister, had once given her. Even risking his life to right the wrongs that Styx and the others had done to her.

He wanted to protect her. The solemn, quiet boy that seemed slightly older than her. The one who had lost his sister, who had gone through lengths untold to become powerful enough to cast Square Class magic without a wand.

Who had used the hay meant for him to sleep on to make cute stuffed animals to cheer Louise up.

_No._

She stared at the ground.

She couldn't accept it. She couldn't let it end here, not without paying him back.

_I have no right to call her that... she has been dead for a long time._

She wouldn't accept it.

Louise still didn't know much about Emiya. Who he was, what happened to make him the way he was. But she did know that he held regrets.

She might be a zero. She might never be able to use magic. She might even be a coward for trying to end her own life.

But out of everything she was, Louise Francoise Le Blance de La Valliere refused to be another regret for Emiya-

_He stands there alone, protecting them from his world of blades._

-for the one who was so broken death didn't even faze him.

She glared at the ground and whipped out her wand that had never worked for her before.

There wouldn't be enough time to cast a spell. Even if she could, Louise didn't know any that would stop a lethal fall like this.

But a spell came to her lips, words she had never heard before yet resonated deep in her heart.

"I am the bone of my sword."

And in the brief moment before she hit the ground, her body was made of blades.

* * *

"By the Founder..."

A voice. Feminine. Familiar. Low, slightly sultry.

Emiya opened his eyes.

"She didn't... but that figure. By the Founder, she- she actually...!"

Kirche. That was who the voice belonged to.

Kirche, who he had been talking to outside in the hall just moments before. Who he had shoved aside because...

"Louise!"

Kirche turned to look at him with downcast eyes. "Emiya... I- I don't know what to say, but Valliere-"

No. He refused to believe she was dead. She couldn't be. He wouldn't allow it.

He ran to the window and looked down.

"Emiya." A calm voice and hand on his shoulder.

He brushed it off and stared intently at the dark ground, activating his Pure Eyes to dispel all the shadows preventing him from seeing the truth of what happened.

A tiny figure, face down against the ground. Surrounding her, a small pool of blood.

He looked harder, willing himself to see past the lies that his mind was telling him. To see past the fact that Louise had no way of surviving a fall since she couldn't use reinforcement, and probably couldn't use her world's conventional magic if the jeers her peers had sent her held any truth.

...There. Faint, but she was breathing somehow.

He remembered the sudden drain on his reserves. That probably had something to do with it.

Irrelevant. He discarded all extraneous thoughts in that moment.

Louise was alive, but it might not be for much longer if he didn't hurry.

"Kirche."

She startled at being suddenly addressed in an urgent tone, and then said, "What is it, Emiya?"

"Here."

He tossed her wand back to her. "Follow."

And then he leapt out of the window without waiting for her response, making sure to direct his path away from Louise.

His landing caused a small crater a few meters away from Louise, but other than the fact that he would have to clean his dirtied clothing, he was fine.

Unlike his Master.

Emiya immediately made his way to Louise and took a closer look.

There was blood, yes, and he had been right when he determined it to be a small pool. There was far less than he expected for a human body hitting the ground, even if it wasn't concrete. Actually, the fact that there was blood at all was odd.

He activated his eyes and looked closer, filtering out everything but Louise's condition.

What he saw astonished him.

There were no signs of cracked bones, a cracked skull, or any breaks in the spinal column like what he expected from such a fall. Instead, she looked to have suffered an array of slashes along her torso, the cause of which-

"Blades...?"

A sight he had never expected to see in someone else. Tightly knitted steel substituting muscles. Condensed steel acting as bones. Organs encased in a layer of smooth steel to prevent damage.

But before his very eyes, that was changing. The steel was melding back into flesh, bone, and what an ordinary human would have in their body.

A light thud sounded, and Kirche appeared on the ground next to him.

"She's dead, isn't she?" Kirche shook her head. "All that blood..."

Emiya couldn't help it. He smiled.

Kirche saw it and rounded on him. "How dare you!? You say that you don't want to harm the Valliere family, that you're Louise's Servant, and now you have the nerve to laugh at her dead-!"

"She's not dead."

"Eh?"

His smile widened when he saw that Louise's breathing had settled into a normal rhythm and the blood had stopped flowing.

Kirche gasped. "But... That's...!"

Emiya touched Louise's back and used 'Structural Grasp'. As expected, the only thing wrong with her body was a lack of blood and prana... as well as magic circuits that rivaled his own?

That would require looking into at a later point.

He lifted Louise up and carried her like he would a bride. Right now, she needed to rest, something she _should_ have been doing when he left her to her own devices.

Well, he and his Master would have some words about that when she woke up.

He turned to Kirche, who still seemed shocked about the fact that Louise wasn't dead, despite what the indent in the ground and blood would indicate, and said, "Would you mind directing me back to her room? After recent events, I believe my Master is overdue for a long rest."

Kirche blinked, and then nodded. "Right... this way."

As they headed back to her room, Emiya realized something:

He was glad. Not satisfied, like he was when he fulfilled his duty. Not content, like he was when he knew those he was tasked to protect were safe.

No, he was actually 'happy' and 'relieved' that Louise was unharmed. And it wasn't what he thought he should feel about it either, but a genuine warm feeling in his chest that brought a smile to his face.

He shook his head and discarded the thought.

What a foolish notion. A sword like him had no emotions.

...Right?

* * *

Louise was dreaming. Or maybe she was dead? After what she had done, the petite girl couldn't quite tell. Still, she hardly thought that the afterlife would include a vision of someone who looked like her familiar, so she decided that she was dreaming.

Fighting. He was always fighting. To protect those around him. To protect those in need.

There were people by his side, people who he was fighting to protect.

An impish woman with brown-hair and a teasing smile. A beautiful woman with hair a rich violet and a smile that showed content. A regal woman with elegant raven hair and startling blue eyes.

Everything he did was for their happiness, and-

_He survived through countless battles, not once retreating, not once regretting._

-then time passed and he was alone, with the world as his enemy.

A flash of white light, brighter than any spell Louise knew, and enough heat to rival the sun itself in its intensity.

And then, the summoning ritual, but from his point of view. Smoke, children, and then herself, standing with a haughty attitude that swiftly changed into a blank mask as the jeers started.

One that was already cracking as she looked at him.

For a moment, Louise was ashamed of her weakness, that Emiya had seen her at her worst.

But then, she heard his voice.

"It doesn't matter. I'll protect her."

And she woke up.

* * *

Emiya was slightly concerned. While he was sure that nothing was wrong with his Master, she had been asleep for the past few days.

After the first, he had passed it off as sickness, using his terrifying reputation and a healthy dose of killing intent to fend off all would be intruders on his Master's rest save for Siesta, who helped him tend to the unconscious Louise.

After the second, he met the blonde boy who had sided with Louise in the 'incident'. Guiche was his name, and he had come to deliver the sentiments of those that wished Louise well.

Cards, flowers, and other triflings adorned Louise's room as her hidden and now not-so-hidden supporters made their intent clear.

Surprisingly, there had even been a card from both the Headmaster and that Professor Colbert, which explained their actions in a calmer and more logical manner.

Apparently, there was civil war in a country, Albion, not far away from this one, Tristain, and the princess of this country was seeking a marriage with another country to the east, Germania, well-known for its military might, in order to secure their safety.

The reasoning for not interfering with Louise's situation apparently came from the fact that they couldn't afford for anything that might be seen as a slight to the Germanian students in the politically neutral Academy.

Tristain's standing was already weak enough as it was, and now with Emiya actually killing a Germanian student in a duel, sanctioned or not, on Academy grounds, well the marriage was more than likely to fall through.

On the third, Kirche convinced him to take Louise to the infirmary for an examination. Considering that this world was completely different from his own and that the magical system was likely different as well, he allowed it.

The culprit turned out to be a severe depletion of what the mages called 'Willpower', something Emiya realized was completely separate from prana or mana, what he had assumed to be the source of their spells, after extensive questioning, disguised as curiosity.

And that led to the present, where Emiya was sitting on a chair next to Louise, resting in a pristine white bed under matching covers.

It was just around noon, the sun reaching the highest point in the sky, when he felt a massive surge of mana on the school grounds.

He had just gotten out of his chair and armed himself with the greatest sword he knew when the door burst open with a blast of wind.

Emiya glared at the intruder and raised Excaliber. "Who are you?"

The woman met his glare with a steely one of her own and raised a wand in response to his sword. "So you are the Mage who proclaims himself my daughter's familiar."

Daughter...?

Emiya's eyes widened in realization. This woman-

"Prepare yourself. I, Karin of the Heavy Wind, challenge you to a duel for the pain you have caused my daughter."

-She was the source of Louise's fragility.

* * *

**Tiger Dojo**

When the door opens, no one is around. The dojo is empty, its masters gone for now. All that is here is a single file, lying down on the ground with a note on top of it.

_Hello there, Reader-kun! Sorry we're not here right now, but important things came up! Could you take a look at this in the meantime? We'll be back soon, I promise! _

_-Ilya_

* * *

Identity: Emiya Shirou?

The Sword of Akasha, whose sole purpose was to protect those dear to 'Emiya Shirou' after he created a 'miracle' to save them. A peerless swordsman and relentless protector. Other details are unknown.

Master: Louise Francoise Le Blanc de Valliere

Class: Lifthrasir

While normally the weakest of the Void Servants due to acting as just a 'vessel' of power and giving no extraordinary bonuses, the Sword of Akasha's own abilities are high enough to compensate for this.

Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Strength: B

Endurance: B

Agility: C

Mana: A

Luck: D

**Class Skills:**

Heart of God: A

Symbolic of one who would survive Ragnarok. It allows the Master to draw upon their Servant's pool of Od, Willpower, Origin, Alignment, and Sorcery Traits to supplement their own. An inversion of the typical Master-Servant relationship that enhances the Master's abilities by drawing from the Servant. As expected of such an usurption, overuse will result in the cessation of the Servant's existance, turning them into nothing more than an empty shell.

At this level, the Master is capable of using the entirety of their Servant's strengths to supplement their own in the same manner they would any other weapon.

This is possible because 'Emiya Shirou' is closely aligned with his origin of 'Sword', and will sacrifice himself to be able to protect those dear to him, becoming even a machine if necessary.

Familiar Bond: A

A potent compulsion to make the summoned familiar 'tame' and obey the Summoner's wishes. The average level of compulsion (Rank C) is enough for even dangerous Gryphons or intelligent Rhyme Dragons to yield to their Summoner's demands. In the long run, it fosters love and companionship, and is meant to be a symbiotic relationship to aid both the Summoner and the Summoned reach a mutual understanding, until death do they part.

Due to being Lifthrasir, a Servant meant to give their life up for their Summoner to enhance their spells, the compulsion placed upon the Sword is formidable, enough to shift his inhuman mindset of a 'Sword' to one closer to a 'Human'. On this level, it is more of a curse than a blessing, and trends dangerously into a parasitic relationship rather than the intended symbiotic relationship.

This also allows the Summoner, Louise, to gain insights into the Sword's past via dreams, flashbacks, or sudden thoughts that are associated with the familiar.

**Personal Skills:**

Magic Resistance: A

In the case of 'Emiya Shirou', this ability is a result of his high mana capacity and 'Body of Steel'. Cancels the effect of spells up until a value of '50', or 'A' ranked spells.

Eye of the Mind (False): B

Originally 'Eye of the Mind (True)', it has become 'False' as it is no longer a 'calm analysis of battle conditions' through experience, but rather a 'calm analysis of battle conditions' through an instinctive analysis using knowledge burned upon the soul.

The ability to deduce an appropriate course of action to escape danger. So long as there is even a 1% chance of escape, this ability heightens the probability of success immensely.

Body of Steel:

The Sword is at heart a blade mimicking the one known as Emiya Shirou. This means that his core is that of steel, and this shows in combat when his body is wounded. Swords will cross over wounds and heal anything save for lethal wounds. The only way to kill the Sword is to exhaust his prana or completely eradicate his body, and those are a difficult feat indeed, and in the former case the death is only temporary.

This grants a resistance to any physical damage up until B ranked attacks. Magical damage is excluded from this resistance.

Pure Eyes: A

Unlike Mystic Eyes, which are mutated magic circuits in the eyes, these can be said to be the inheritance of Fate.

The ones possessed by the Sword are classified as Silver under the Noble Color Classification, and mark the ones under Shinto, or the way of the Gods. Originally possessed by Emiya Shirou upon gaining omnipotent abilities, the remnant has inherited his will, and thus these eyes, representing the succession of Fate.

As a passive ability, it also allows him to 'see' the world as it truly is making him immune to visual illusions or obstructions.

As an active ability, one that requires complete focus, it can be used to determine the Origin or Purpose of anything. The more complex a concept, or the more general, the more time it takes for a successful divination.

As a general rule, the Sword prefers to use this sparingly and usually only to comprehend the world around him.

**Noble Phantasm:**

Mugen no Kensei (Dream of the Sword Saint): D-A++

A special magic called a Reality Marble, which 'Emiya Shirou' is able to use.

It is a universe containing all the swords once conceived by the Sorcerer Emiya Shirou that had existed in 'Unlimited Blade Works' prior to activating his 'Magic'. Different from 'Infinite Sword Creation', it is rather a repository of blades that may be drawn into the world to be wielded by the 'Sword' Emiya Shirou. Because of this, the only weapons that exist in this realm are those that are strictly 'Sword'.

Weapons such as 'Rule Breaker', 'Gae Bolg', or 'Harpe' do not exist in this Reality Marble, though it may be possible to create a weapon with similar capacities for a single use, given time and comprehension of its origin.

The true purpose for this realm is the replication of 'Skill' and the 'Swords' here are only a means to facilitate that replication. Using the 'Swords' as a way to anchor techniques, he can utilize any ability 'Emiya Shirou' has seen that can be attributed to a 'Sword' by simply calling up the image of the associated blade in his mind. This allows for potent combinations such as 'Nine Lives' with two swords.

It operates similar to 'Gate of Babylon' in summoning the weapons within, as there is only a one-time expenditure of prana to bring them into Reality. However, destruction of any sword comes at a dire cost, as recreation of even one consumes a vast amount of prana, equal to projecting 'holy-sword' class weaponry.

While there can only be a single copy of each sword present at any time, there is no limit to the number of swords that may be drawn from the Reality Marble other than the number of swords stored within, which number to a few thousand as of his being summoned, though a majority are C ranked Noble Phantasms or lesser ranked.

There is a loophole that may be exploited in the usage of this Reality Marble. As it is something that belongs to 'Emiya Shirou', and the one using it is the 'Sword of Akasha' belonging to 'Emiya Shirou', the Sword is able to instantaneously switch places with any other blade that has been drawn from the Reality Marble. In addition, because of this loophole, the Reality Marble may be deployed to keep individuals safe in that realm while the 'Sword' fights back in reality as just another blade drawn from that Reality Marble.

Note that this Reality Marble has changed from the time of its conception in 'A Different Path'. While the Sword is able to use its abilities in a similar manner to the original Emiya Shirou, he is no longer able to store blades or techniques at a glance, or produce entirely new weapons without considerable time and preparation. Neither is he able to use anything that is not strictly a 'Sword', such as Harpe or Rho Aius.

Kigen (?): EX

?

* * *

**End Tiger Dojo **

* * *

A/N: And here we are with an extra long chapter to make up for the last one. Ehe, things have definitely turned a bit from what I had in mind when I started writing this story, but that's what happens when you don't properly outline everything with only a vague idea of what you want to happen and write on the seat of your pants...

I'm not one to completely rewrite events that have unfolded, so I guess I'll just have to do my best to fix things as the story goes on, hm?

Anyway, we get a glimpse at the players lurking in the shadows. There is a reason that the Sword was summoned as Lithrasir, I'll have you know, and the other Void Familiars in the Halkegnia being different as well.

A cookie to whoever guesses right who the new Gandalfr shown in the beginning is, and where he's from.

Thanks again for reading! I hope you enjoyed, and remember to leave a review. It only helps me improve the story for the future, and I greatly appreciate each one.

I would also like opinions on characterizations. Not too solid with them yet, and any suggestions would be welcome.

Anywho, Karin and Emiya meet at last.

Considering that Louise not only was almost violated, but actually felt like ending her life was the solution to it all...

And that Emiya thinks Karin was the source of Louise's low self-esteem...

Yeah. That'll be fun.

Well then... until the next!

A/N2: Sorry, forgot to reply to guest reviews! I didn't mean it, I swear. Here are the responses, in order from older to newest.

Guest: Anyway, EX ranked is innumerable, something so powerful or esoteric that there's no comparison. Dimensional phenomena, world shattering spells, are examples of this.

someone: Glad you enjoyed the last! Emiya won't be owning everyone, but his full powers when they're shown definitely will be awesome.

Guest: Well, it's how I view the magic and that's how it's going to stay. Anyone who disagrees er... I guess that's their opinion?

Guest: Definitely back up to 100%! Indeed, mental effects are occurring here, as stated above.

Guest: Hope the explanation in the stat sheet cleared that up a bit, but as for the first question, yes, they still think that to an extent. It's murky though.

TJG: Yep, that's definitely a major flaw.

Guest: See stat sheet above :)

Guest: Thanks! Glad you love it!

That Guy: I'm glad you like it! Yes, it definitely will make things easier on my end, and hopefully the fight scenes will be better as a result.

Guest: Oh, interactions are going to be... interesting, to say the least. As for suspense... I'll just say that one man can't protect someone from the world by himself without ending it in turn.

Guest: A bit mistaken. Hope the Stats cleared it up a bit.


	7. Sword of Origin: Sword and Tempest

_**Sword of Origin: Sword and Tempest**_

A duel.

This 'Karin', who dared call herself Louise's mother had challenged him for a duel.

She was dressed for the part, wearing steel armor and a sword on her waist. Though her hair, blonde and tinted pink like Louise's, clashed with her attire, the serious demeanor she held decried any thoughts of silliness or amusement.

Harsh. Unyielding. This woman standing before him could be called 'steel', without a doubt.

...It was no wonder that Louise was so fragile if this woman was her 'mother'.

Emiya narrowed his eyes.

She was someone who would cut down anything in her way, tear apart those who dared defy her. A figure that was insurmountable, and whose wrath you dared not incur.

He was the same, and so could sympathize. But then, he was a Sword at his core, not human. But this woman... this person who threw away her emotions and hardened her heart... whose comfort could have eased Louise's despair...

He could never understand that.

Emiya lowered Excaliber and then rose to his feet, all the while fixing Karin with a sharp gaze.

"I accept."

A moment of silence, one where Karin tried to match Emiya's gaze.

Futile. A human who pretended to be steel could never match the resolve of one whose very origin was steel.

Karin gave him a curt nod and spun on her heel, her footsteps echoing on the stone floor as she walked out. "The field outside the castle grounds, three hours hence. Do not say that I did not show mercy."

Emiya stared at her receding figure for a while longer, trying to see _some_ good in her heart, to find some reason to not utterly annihilate her.

He failed.

"...She isn't worthy for your blade."

Emiya returned Excaliber to His fantasy and sat back down in his chair.

Louise's mother. Karin of the Heavy Wind, a woman who had trained her heart into steel, attempted to become steel.

He cast a glance at his young Master. The girl whose heart was glass, one that could break at any moment. Left alone, he had no doubt that she would be crushed under the weight of her despair.

"Do not worry, Louise."

He reached over and smoothed her bangs, a nostalgic action reminding him of times long past.

"I will protect you... even from her."

His Master didn't respond, but Emiya liked to think his actions offered a measure of comfort for her.

* * *

The time before the duel passed by at a slow pace.

Louise was still unconscious, her body recovering from willpower depletion.

Emiya didn't trust anyone else to protect her if he left the room, so he stayed there while the time of the duel drew near.

He used the time and the silence to contemplate his actions, and what he would do in the duel.

He possessed plenty of swords that could outright kill Karin, but that wouldn't vindicate her failure to protect Louise. It was a simple matter to kill someone, after all. No, that would not do.

He had many skills that he could use to do the same, but again, it wasn't enough to absolve her failure.

No, he wouldn't use those.

Karin was someone who earned his ire, who he would prefer dead rather than alive, but killing her would be more trouble than it was worth.

The death of a student, even one who was clearly to blame and deserved it, was enough to send the school into a flurry of activity. Sides were drawn, and fights between them were commonplace.

A tension was present in the school that hadn't been there when he first arrived.

Those that believed the student had been in the right... and those that believed the student to be in the wrong. And then there was the Germanian and Tristainian situation to consider.

While he was more than prepared to fight off a country, even the World, to protect Louise, instigating such an affair by killing Louise's mother for selfish reasons was-

That thought brought everything to a halt.

_Selfish reasons...?_

That was wrong. He was doing this for Louise's sake. Her mother deserved to-

No. That was wrong as well. If he truly wanted to protect Louise, he would have ignored the duel and waited for her to wake up first. Instead, he felt a desire, a _need_ to fight Karin and right the wrongs she inflicted upon Louise.

Emiya frowned. Something wasn't right here.

In retrospect, his actions had become more irrational than what they had been in the past.

Drawing Excaliber in response to a surge of Mana when he could have used a nameless sword, killing the student when Emiya could have maimed him, and showing his capabilities the moment he was summoned to mere children when he could have intimidated them with killing intent.

"Sir Emiya?"

A soft voice broke him out of his thoughts.

Siesta had entered the room. She appeared concerned, hands smoothing her apron and eyes downcast. "The Headmaster sent me to tell you that it's almost time."

He nodded, and gave her a small smile. "Thank you, Siesta."

His eyes flickered back towards Louise, and then said, "Would you mind-"

"Emiya!"

He was interrupted by the arrival of a familiar red-haired young woman bursting into the room. "What's this I hear about you challenging the Heavy Wind to a duel?!"

Emiya gave her a pointed look. "Ms. Zerbst. I would have thought you had better manners."

"Ah."

Kirche seemed to realize that they weren't alone, and that Louise was still sleeping.

"...Sorry." She continued in a softer voice. "But what in Brimir's name do you think you're doing?! Do you even know who you've challenged? What am I going to tell Valliere when she wakes up and you're dead? Did you think that through before challenging the Heavy Wind?!"

Emiya couldn't help but smile at her reaction. It was all too familiar to how the other hot-headed women in his life used to act. Like when he decided to interrupt that ritual the Dead Apostle Ancestors were performing...

"This is not funny, Emiya!"

Kirche crossed her arms and glared at him.

Siesta, meanwhile, was watching their interactions with wide eyes, unsure of how to respond.

Emiya shook his head. It seemed that Kirche cared more than he had thought she did.

"I'm sorry, Kirche. You're right. It isn't very funny. But you're wrong too."

Kirche looked like she was going to interrupt, but he held up his hand.

"Remember how I said you're a few hundred years too young to be able to harm me? It still holds true for this 'Heavy Wind' I will be facing."

His words must have come across as arrogant to the young ladies.

"U-um... Sir Emiya," Siesta said. "I don't mean to doubt your capabilities, but Karin the Heavy Wind is the greatest Wind mage to have ever served Tristain. Even the greatest of Germanian troops flee when they hear she's near."

Kirche nodded, a severe look on her face.

"...It doesn't matter if she's the greatest mage or if she's the worst."

Emiya stood up and then lifted Louise in a bridal hold. "I won't allow her to harm Louise any longer."

He left before the two of them could interject.

* * *

Emiya took a look around the battlefield.

It was the same as when he was summoned, grassy plains spreading out all around with the castle in the distance.

Siesta and Kirche had followed him, and were currently keeping an eye on Louise, who was resting on a soft bed of grass that he prepared.

They were early. Or perhaps Karin was late.

The latter was more likely, a tactic to infuriate him and throw off his composure.

It didn't work.

Time passed and students filtered out from the castle. The curious, the bored, and the ones who wanted to see him humiliated, no doubt.

A while after that, the Headmaster appeared, followed by the bald professor.

Still, there was no sign of Karin.

A fierce roar, and the buffet of strong winds.

A figure clad in steel was descending from the sky, riding on a beast that Emiya identified as a 'manticore'.

He didn't respond to the intended intimidation.

He had faced worse.

Emiya strode forward, closing the distance between him and his opponent.

She landed when the space reached ten meters. Her manticore took to the air, leaving its Master alone to face Emiya.

He stopped and surveyed his opponent.

Competent. He tell that much from a single glance.

Again, there was that sword on her waist. A magical focus attuned to wind magic through its continual usage. The armor she wore had seen countless battles, and repaired countless times. The history of both was long, and told the tale of someone who triumphed in many wars, who overcame numerous obstacles... and who had hardened her heart with a 'Rule of Steel'.

The Headmaster said some meaningless words. Trifling matters like 'this is a duel of honor' and 'both parties are free to use whatever means they desire'.

He ignored it to observe Karin.

Inscrutable. The suit of armor hid her visage, hinting nothing of the woman beneath that steely appearance.

Fake. That steely resolve. That mask she held.

Her blade told him everything he needed about Karin the Heavy Wind.

Someone who had once been hot-headed, and would never harm those close to her.

Someone who would have given everything for her Queen.

Someone who cast her heart into steel, shirking her duties to her family because of it.

He saw red, and a sword that resonated with his resolve appeared in his hands.

The 'duel' began.

* * *

Karin quirked an eyebrow when she saw the silver-haired Mage suddenly wielding a steel long sword.

_Earth Magic...? No, it was an instantaneous spell. Summoning?_

She pushed the thought away. It was irrelevant.

No matter what magic her opponent could use, no matter what level of mage he was, the duel would end in nothing more than his complete and utter defeat.

Death would be too kind for what he had done.

_You will learn your place, 'Emiya Shirou'. _

The man had humiliated not just the Valliere name, but Tristain itself through the 'duel' he had with a Germanian student.

The marriage between Henrietta and the Germanian Emperor was called off.

There were rumors that Louise had engaged in illicit affairs to fake summoning him as a familiar.

And then there was the fact that Louise-

Karin cast all of her thoughts away with a mind of steel.

It didn't matter. The man in front of her, equipped with silver armor and white clothing, was her opponent.

No, not opponent.

He was the one who would be crushed under her Heavy Wind.

She raised her blade and-

* * *

-A flurry of razor winds launched towards Emiya.

To her credit, the attack would have been enough to wound him, if only lightly. Going by the system he was familiar with, the spell was at least 'A' ranked.

But it wasn't enough.

His steel sword cut through each and every blade of wind, preventing them from harming Louise or the two girls watching over her.

The fact that she had been so callous in her attack only tempered the fury Emiya was starting to feel.

"Trace... on."

If Karin wanted to attack with blades of wind-

"Trigger off. Fire."

-He'd show her the real thing.

A rain of steel descended upon Karin. Each of the swords were nameless, mundane weapons that he had accumulated throughout his life, unlike the swords forged through the 'Divine Instrument' process. Even so, it more than served his purpose.

* * *

Karin's eyes grew wide at the sudden rain of blades.

On instinct, she summoned her signature 'Heavy Wind', and the blades were scattered by the sudden appearance of a raging tempest.

In the midst of her wind, Karin stared at Emiya, mentally revising her opinion of the young man.

_He's no ordinary mage, is he?_

She had heard the tale of how he created countless swords in the air when he was first summoned to intimidate the students. Without incantation as well, a feat that even General Gramont would be hard-pressed to imitate, and he was Tristain's greatest Earth Mage.

_The ability to summon a sword, to create countless others, and cut through my own wind... he must be a square mage. Three fold earth and one wind. _

Dangerous, moreso than she anticipated.

...But it wasn't enough to beat her.

* * *

She reacted just like he expected her to.

_Foolish._

She had scattered the blades throughout the field, some far and some close, with a localized hurricane.

He heard cheering in the distance, likely from some students that were happy his attack failed.

It didn't.

The swords belonging to 'Emiya Shirou' that had taken root in His fantasy were one and the same, a fact that had ended many who were unaware of it.

This was checkmate, but he wouldn't end it just yet.

Karin had only just begun to show her skills. Ending it before she went all out would be pointless.

No. Emiya would break everything she sent at him, shatter her greatest spells, and sever that delusion of superiority. The carefully cultivated talents she made with her 'Rule of Steel'... he would show her how meaningless that ideal was.

He could see Karin standing within the hurricane, unscathed. Of course. That spell was both an ultimate offense and defense. A half-hearted attack like his rain of swords wouldn't breach it.

He raised his steel sword and prepared to charge, cutting through the hurricane with sheer force-

High-pitched screeching, the sound of an object accelerated to obscene speeds.

An invisible lance cut through the air, tearing apart the ground as it flew towards him.

He barely had the time to move his sword in front of it before it was upon him.

A crack, swiftly expanding upon prolonged contact with the attack.

Emiya's eyes widened as he realized this attack could wound him. Not just a scratch, but an actual gaping hole in his body if he didn't stop it, or if his sword broke.

He grit his teeth and pushed against the lance of wind, something that impossibly could rival Gae Bolg in sheer penetration power. "I am the bone of my sword...!"

The words to connect 'Emiya Shirou'. With that chant, the steel sword was reinforced, the cracks vanishing in an instant as the sword became an extension of his own self.

He had underestimated her. Because the few mages he had come across had been children or unable to attack him, he assumed the same would be true for Karin.

How foolish.

She was strong. Absurdly so if this was but one of the higher level attacks in her arsenal.

-It was a drill made from vacuum winds, drawing power from sheer force. Four layers of rotation, each adding force to the other, and only getting stronger as it approached.

Something like this could have killed a Servant. An impossible thought, but one that he couldn't ignore.

_No more holding back._

Karin the Heavy Wind. She was more than a simple Mage like he had assumed. No, the one in front of him was one of those rare few that could ascend, someone that would be remembered throughout time as a 'Legend'...

A Heroic Spirit in the making.

He flooded his sword with prana, causing the cracks to reappear. It was dangerous, fragile.

And then it _broke._

* * *

Karin lowered her sword when she saw Emiya's blade explode.

Dust obscured her vision, and the very earth around the young man had been torn apart with the force of her spell.

_A pity._

The duel didn't go like she had planned.

It was her intent to humiliate the unknown mage, to defeat him and then force compensation for the wrongs he committed. Instead, he had proven stronger than she imagined, even able to weather the attack she had used to destroy entire fortresses.

There was a deathly silence.

Of course. Karin the Heavy Wind had just gone all out, using her strongest attack in a duel.

The severity of that notion stunned any unruly students into silence.

"No way..."

It was broken by a female voice.

Karin turned towards the source and frowned.

The speaker had been a red-haired girl with tan skin. Familiar... ah. She was the Zerbst attending the academy.

Surprisingly, she was also standing protectively in front of Louise, as well as a commoner girl with black hair and a -maid outfit.

Perhaps she had been enamored with the mage? Or perhaps it was awe at seeing the spell that instilled fear into Germanian soldiers to this day.

It didn't matter either way. Though it wasn't the outcome she envisioned, this result was more than enough to vindicate Louise of her 'familiar' and the problems he had caused. With this, the only ones she had left to deal with was that foolish Headmaster who had treated Louise like an experiment and not tutored her like Karin explicitly stated before sending her to the acade-

"▂▂▃▃▄▄▅▅!"

A wordless scream.

Honed instincts only tempered with age spurred Karin into action, casting a spell to increase her speed. It was only with that boost that she evaded a crimson blade seeking her neck.

Her eyes widened when she saw her attacker.

It was the mage, Emiya Shirou. He had survived, unscathed from one of her greatest attacks.

_No, not unscathed..._

She narrowed her eyes and observed her opponent.

Her attack had not failed. Countless lines cut across the young man's body, blood spilling from them and dying his white clothes crimson. His armor had been shattered as well, revealing a bare chest with archaic runes etched upon it.

But that wasn't the surprising part.

She could see it. Beneath the dripping blood, where deep wounds should be, there was steel.

Impossible. Turning the very body into steel...? Such a feat was unheard of. Though it was theoretically possible, the act was on par with turning things into gold. Such a spell would send the caster into a coma, depleting all of their willpower at once. Yet, here was someone who had done just that, and yet was still able to attack, using summoning magic immediately after as well.

She didn't have any more time to think as Emiya attacked again, his crimson sword moving at blinding speeds.

* * *

It was unforgiveable.

Karin the Heavy Wind. She was on par with the Servants that had been summoned in the Holy Grail War.

Magic that rivaled Medea's in sheer destruction, but formed into blades of wind that bypassed Magic Resistance. An attack that could likely break Archer's greatest protection. And now swordplay that could allot her the Saber class if she were summoned.

Emiya let his frustration feed the Sword of Truth and launched another attack at Karin.

-The Sword of Truth. It was one of the spoils of war against the Clock Tower, a powerful conceptual weapon that could clash against Noble Phantasms. It was from another world, originally, and likely appeared due to one of Zelretch's experiments. A silver long sword with golden hilt and ornamented guard, one that grew in power with the user's righteous anger, turning red when that anger turned into rage.

It wasn't something Emiya would usually use. Anger was unreliable in combat, and rage ever moreso.

But in this instant, he didn't care.

Louise's mother was strong. Powerful enough to prevent the rumors that hurt Louise more than blades ever could. Powerful enough that her very name would send armies fleeing. Powerful enough to give Louise all the love she could want, and not worry about what the world thought.

And yet she didn't.

Instead, she had sent her daughter here without the protection that would have allowed her to flourish, leaving her to either sink or swim on her own account.

Karin parried his attack, but the next was upon her before she could escape.

-He couldn't understand it. Why? Why didn't she protect Louise?

Louise was her daughter. The most precious thing a person could have. Someone who adored you and looked up to you.

Why did she push her away?

"You would never understand!"

It seemed that he had spoken without thinking.

Karin suddenly increased in speed, and Emiya found himself on the defensive.

"It was for her own good! I refuse to allow a daughter of mine to become-"

Emiya pushed aside Karin's blade and said, "What, a failure?!"

He growled and sent a heavy slash towards her, both hands holding the hilt in an overhead smash.

A large gust of wind lifted him up. He managed to cut the wind holding him before he was sent too far, but Karin had already retreated.

A crack.

Though there were no outward signs, Emiya could see it. His words had gotten through that 'Rule of Steel' she had, breaking her composure.

A rapid incantation.

The distance between them had cleared to over fifty meters.

A quick glance around showed all of the students retreating, with outright fear in their eyes.

That girl with blue-green hair had also appeared, riding on a dragon with scales the color of her hair. She picked up Kirche, Louise, and Siesta before speeding away on her dragon.

* * *

_That impertinent fool! How dare he!_

Karin raced through the incantation for her signature spell, powering it with her words, her wrath.

He didn't understand. Naive, foolish.

Even if he was powerful, moreso than she expected, he didn't understand the responsibility that came with that power, the curse it came with.

She had wanted to protect Louise. She wanted to shelter her from the horrors of war that she knew would come.

She was well aware of the problem her youngest daughter had with spells. From a young age, all of Louise's attempts at spells ended in explosions with destructive results.

She had power, of that Karin had no doubt. But sheer power only got you so far in life, and too much instilled nothing but fear.

Karin would be a fool not to notice how others saw her. A monster that could blow away entire castles. A ticking bomb that might even destroy Tristain itself.

Part of that might have been due to her youth, to her rash actions as a hot-headed girl.

That was why she formed her 'Rule of Steel', tempered her emotions so that her power didn't get the better of her like it used to in the past.

She didn't want that to happen to Louise. She wanted her to have a normal life, one away from the field and the fear of the people.

That was why she sent Louise to the academy, knowing full well that she might not fit in. But better a misfit than a weapon. That was what Karin had believed.

But she had been more than a misfit. And with the appearance of this 'Emiya Shirou' as her familiar, everything had spun out of control.

And that was because... No. She refused to accept that the mage was right. That this 'Emiya Shirou' knew her daughter more than she did. That it was her-

She grit her teeth as she finished the incantation and poured all of her emotions into the spell, the first since her final battle years ago.

* * *

It was a typhoon, compressed into a towering pillar of inescapable death. An attack that would give even Herakles pause.

This was something that posed a true danger to him. An attack that could destroy his physical form, a feat that was matched by a number of people he could count on a single hand.

...But it was also her last attack. He could see how weary she was after finishing her incantation. How it drained her.

If he could block this, if he could stop this one attack, he could end the duel.

It would also mean that she was wrong. That all of her carefully cultivated strength was for naught.

For something like this, he had only one response.

A blade appeared in his hand. A short sword with an ornamental hilt appearing to be jade or emerald, and with a blade tinted green, symbolizing the element it gave control over.

The Heavy Wind descended upon him, intent on scattering his body to the far reaches of the Earth...

"_Fragarach_."

* * *

Karin lowered her blade, feeling the drain of casting such a powerful spell.

It was over.

She had won... no. You couldn't call an outcome like this a victory.

She had intended to humiliate him. To annihilate him in sheer power and show how worthless he was before punishing him accordingly, such that those who called for Louise's head in response to Emiya's actions.

While this did punish him, it also showed how strong he was, and how they couldn't have stopped him if they tried.

...Which meant that the duel was pointless.

In the end, it just came down to pride.

She could have ended it when he blocked her lance. But she didn't, instead choosing to go all out just because she didn't want to accept his words.

_I-_

In an instant, the raging wind ceased. That fact erased all thoughts from Karin's mind.

_Impossible._

There was no way. Only the royal family could match her spell, and that was through two working together. She was the strongest Wind Mage out there, and the fact that someone could equal her was...

_Impossible._

But it wasn't.

He was standing there, bleeding from his previous wounds, but otherwise unscathed. In his right hand was a short sword, one with a green blade.

She started to raise her sword, to cast another spell before he could react.

He was gone, and her helmet broken.

"Wha-"

A sword was at her throat, and steely gray eyes stared down at her.

The battle was over.

* * *

Emiya was of two minds about what to do about Karin.

On one hand, he could kill her. Just another step forward and she was dead. It wasn't like she could escape.

Fragarach, the Answerer (not the 'Sword of retrograde' that was passed down through the Fraga line, but an alternate forged by Emiya), wouldn't allow movement or lies while it was at someone's throat.

On the other hand, he could find out the truth of why she let Louise become the way she was. Of why she had abandoned Louise when she needed her mother the most.

In the end, sentimentality won out over vengeance. "Why do you care so little for Louise?"

"I do care for her."

Sincere. Since Fragarach didn't allow one to lie, it was the truth. But in that case...

"Why did you abandon her then? Why did you send her to a place that ridiculed her, almost destroyed her?"

Silence, and then Karin said in a soft voice, "Do you think I wanted to?"

She sighed. "I knew there were risks, but it was for the best. Louise is not meant for war, despite her magic. It was hard enough for me, but for someone like her..."

The eyes that had been harsh since the time he met her softened. "She should not be a weapon."

Emiya didn't believe it. Even if Fragarach did not allow lies, her words clashed with her actions.

He didn't believe it, so he _looked_ at her, finding out all there was to know about the woman in front of him.

A fiery youth, running from her own family to become a knight that would protect the kingdom.

That same youth becoming disillusioned by fighting through countless battles, hiding her gender beneath a layer of steel.

The youth who became a woman, happy for her children yet fearing she'd hurt them.

A woman who became steel for their sake, suppressing her sense of self and desires to protect them from herself.

A woman of steel whose facade broke more when she realized history was repeating itself in her youngest daughter...

Emiya lowered his blade.

"Your fear is unfounded."

Karin scoffed. "After what you've done, it will be inevitable."

"Emiya!"

"Sir Emiya!"

Kirche and Siesta waved from the blue-haired girl's dragon.

They touched down a short distance away and started towards Emiya and Karin, with the blue-haired girl levitating Louise behind them.

Emiya stared at Louise and nodded. "...Perhaps it is."

Their summoning ritual was meant to draw something closely aligned with the summoner. To summon him, who was nothing more than a Sword given life at the hands of his Maker, Louise had to be compatible in some respect.

Perhaps she truly would become nothing more than a weapon.

But even if that was true...

"It doesn't matter."

Emiya stepped back and turned towards his Master.

"...I'll protect her."

Even if her fate would echo his own, at least when the time came he would be by her side.

"...Very well."

Emiya turned around to see Karin fix him with a steady gaze. "I will entrust her to you, Emiya Shirou. I need not say it, but as her familiar, Louise's fate is in your hands."

"I understand."

She gave him a curt nod in reply and then turned on her heel, facing the direction of the academy. "Do not fail."

At that moment, her manticore landed in front of her with a gust of wind.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have a cowardly headmaster I must reprimand."

With those words, she got on the manticore and flew towards the academy, vanishing before Kirche and the others arrived.

A pair of arms wrapped around him, shortly followed by the sensation of something soft pressing against his back.

"Oh, Emiya! I didn't know you were so _strong_! To think that you could match... no, _beat_ Karin the Heavy Wind..."

Emiya sighed at Kirche's actions and switched places with a sword nearby. He made sure to return the sword before Kirche grabbed it though. He didn't want to hurt one of the few supporters he and his Master had.

"Do you think it's a good time for that, Ms. Zerbst?"

Kirche pouted her lips and crossed her arms. "But darling, I just wanted to reward you for being so heroic!"

Emiya sighed again. Just what was it about pitched combat and facing powerful enemies that drew women to him?

A curse maybe? On one of the swords kept within his Reality Marble?

...Come to think about it, he did have something like that, didn't he? What was it... the Sword of Love?

"...Strong."

The blue-haired girl set Louise down near him and gave Emiya a wary look.

Siesta nodded. "Really strong."

Emiya just sighed.

* * *

This is the Tiger Dojo. Take the advice?

Note. Tiger Dojo is a strange hint corner. If you would like to beat the game by yourself, or if you would like to keep the characters' images, please be warned.

1\. Yes.

2\. No

* * *

**Tiger Dojo**

"Welcome back!"

Ilya clapped her hands together, a small smile on her face. "It's been a while, Reader-san!"

Taiga gave a half-hearted wave from the corner of the dojo. "Hi..."

"Oh, don't worry about her," Ilya said. "She's just upset that she didn't show up again after getting knocked out by Kuzuki."

Taiga nodded, tears streaming down her face. "Why? I was nice! I even did all those things you told me to! Where's the happy ending you promised me? Where I get powered up and fight with Shirou? Tell me!"

Ilya scooted away from her ranting Sensei. "Anyway... onto the story! It looks like Fuji-sensei isn't going to be talking today, so I'll be the one doing the Dojo. Yosh."

She clapped her hands together and her outfit changed, turning into a uniform reminiscent of a certain curry-loving vampire hunter. A clip-board appeared in her hand, and she began flipping through.

"So let's see... ah. We had the duel this chapter, right?"

Taiga's ears perked at the sound of that, and the Tiger of Fuyuki City jumped up, appearing next to Ilya in a flash. "That!" She jabbed her finger into the air. "What were you thinking, Wizard?! Karin isn't that strong!"

"Hm... I'm not sure about that, Sensei."

Ilya flipped through the paper on her clipboard. "It says here that Karin was the only character that could rival the void, and also the only one that could use non-verbal magic. That seems pretty strong to me."

"Let me see that!"

She snatched the clipboard away from Ilya and flipped through the papers. "...Oh. You're right. But these stats... A++ Noble Phantasm? Rank A Mana? Rank B Agility?"

Taiga spun on her heel and jabbed her finger into the air. "You're just artificially inflating the ranks now, Wizard! There's no way that Karin could be that strong, possible Heroic spirit or not!"

"Well, it seems right to me, Fuji-sensei. And you said it yourself last time. The people in Halkeginia have it too good when it comes to their magic."

Taiga grumbled a bit and crossed her arms. "Stupid Nobles and their broken Void magic that can brute force True Sorceries..."

"Anyway..." Ilya pulled out a short sword with a green blade. "Emiya's amazing, isn't he Fuji-sensei? I mean, Archer might have been able to alter Caladbolg, but this Fragarach is completely different."

She swung the blade, and a small gale swept through the dojo.

"Give me that!"

Taiga snatched the blade away from her student and examined it. "Hm... you're right. This version's more like the one I read about in that world history class."

She shook her head. "It was pretty reckless though. He showed a lot of his skills today... who knows what people the duel might have attracted?"

There was a moment of silence, and then Taiga and Ilya both let out a sigh.

"...Are we done here, Wizard?" Ilya pouted. "You haven't even let us talk properly! All you've been doing is forcing us to read from the script! Mou~ it's not fair!"

Taiga nodded. "We did this last time, so how about you let us say what we want for once-"

* * *

**End Tiger Dojo**

* * *

A/N: Well, sorry for the wait, but now that A Different Path is all said and done, this story is my main priority. I'll do my best to update weekly, though no assurances, as I'm sure you're aware of by now.

This duel was challenging to write. Balancing the Sword, or Emiya as we know him as here, is a bit more difficult than I thought. Hope that Karin's strength isn't too exaggerated as a result, but she *is* supposed to be just short of the Void in sheer firepower, and since the Void can brute force True Magics, I've left it as shown.

...At least it was entertaining?

As for those who pointed out the flawed physics last chapter, thank you for that, and I realized it myself a bit too late. I'll just stick to subjective views of time from now on to avoid such an issue.

Anyway, onto guest reviews, in order from oldest to latest.

* * *

**Guest Replies:**

Chapter 6: Ramifications

Guest: Reading this in hindsight makes me feel a bit guilty, but I'll try to update sooner. Yep, Kirei's the Mad King's familiar. Have a cookie. As for the duel, here's hoping it was suitably epic.

Guest: Glad you liked it.

Guest: You're welcome, and I'll try to lighten things up a bit. But I mostly let the story write itself depending on what's crossing my mind, so we'll see I guess? I'll try not to stray further than I already have though. Anyway, yep, the brain washing is super strong for SWORD, or Emiya as we call him here, but he's even more distorted than Shirou was, so it's... somewhat good?

Guest: Yeah, it's kinda like a watered down version of Shirou's in that only 'Swords' can be kept there. He can make things with similar effects to other Noble Phantasms if he knows what they are, but the effort and cost is pretty high, on par with Canon Shirou trying to project Excalibur. It's not something to be done without extensive planning and preparation. Even then, he's the type to stick with what he knows to work, so we probably won't be seeing them.

Someone: Thank you for reading, and sorry for the long wait for an update. Hope this chapter was suitably epic. And yes, the ability is sorta like Gilgamesh, except that he's a 'Wielder' and not really an 'Owner', so he prefers melee than range. It seems weaker, but he has other trumps to make up for the lack of diversity, which we'll likely see in the battle at Saxe-Gotha.

Sinclair: Yeah... too many issues. Hope this result was satisfying.

Guest: Fate doesn't have S rank.

Guest: Ahaha... sorry?

Guest: Have a cookie. And another for realizing that. As for anyone else... well... you'll see. Maybe.

Guest: Those were a bunch of regular swords he had stored in his Reality Marble. It acts sorta like a vault as well, so it also has a bunch of regular swords Emiya's picked up over the years. More cost efficient.

Random reviewer: Ah... sorry? Hope this made up for it...?

Guest: Glad you do!

Guest: Yeah... once again, sorry for delay. The duel was challenging to write, but I hope the outcome was entertaining.

Guest: *cough*yes*cough*. If there's a new Grail War though, theoretically of course, said Servants will likely be from Halkiginian Lore. Or something...

Guest: Hm... that would be interesting...

Guest: Oh, that encounter is going to be entertaining. Not sure quite yet how it's going to go, but their reactions to each other will be at least shock and awe.

Guest: A quirk of his pure eyes. That's what indicates its active use. As for his abilities, yep. Though it's at a higher cost than it would be for Shirou, so he only uses it when he has a lot of time to prepare. At least a week or so.

Guest: Well, the somewhat different actions should be a bit explained next chapter. Kirei has a part in why they've been acting off, though I'm going to do a bit more research to affirm their characters in their mind. Minor characters might have larger roles in the future.

Guest: Louise's low self-esteem comes from various sources, but in my mind Karin does play a good part in it.

Guest: There is a method to the madness in changing which Void Familiars were summoned. The clock's turned on its end, so to speak. If you can figure out what that means, which country has which Familiar should be apparant.

Guest: Yep, it's one of the differences. The Sword, or as we call him here, Emiya, has to put in a lot more effort to forge new swords due to various factors.

Guest: Hope this chapter affirmed some guesses. The latter will be shown next chapter though, as the duel was longer than expected.

Guest: I hope you enjoyed this duel!

Guest: We'll definitely see those at some point. Most likely when Tarbes is attacked, or they head off to Albion (if they go there. Still undecided) and he picks up Derf next chapter. Probably.

Guest: You're absolutely right.

Guest: It's linked to it in that the Divine Instrument Forging System supplements the natural process they have of making swords. If they never received it, Shirou could still make swords, but they'd likely be a rank lower and he'd have to consciously decide to recreate it, rather than just pulling it from the reality marble. His reality marble stores 'Blueprints' along with 'Histories' of swords on a glance rather than the swords themselves. This is uniquely suited to the D.I. Forging System. In short, projection of Noble Phantasms and Shirou sees is still possible without Divine Instrument Forging, but it's a conscious effort and not as efficient as making blades in advance to use at a later date.

Guest: You're welcome! I am indeed trying to stay clear of the copy/paste plot that most ZnT fics follow, but as a result things might get a bit out of hand due to my attempt at originality. Hopefully it doesn't get too bad, though I'll try to keep it entertaining at the least.

Guest: Yep, it's definitely continuing. I have to ask though, what's "Heart of Iron"?

Guest: I'll keep it T for now, since it's not explicit.

Guest: An author's notes do tend to contain helpful information. :nods: As for why Kirei is Gandalfr, can you imagine how OP he'd be? Against someone like Emiya, he needs that boost. Besides, I can't see Kirei acting all buddy buddy with any animals, like Vindalfr allows.

Stats: Yep, I tried to not make him super broken. A fic where a character steamrolls everyone else isn't really too fun to read or write. Emiya is also efficient, so he definitely wants to avoid that penalty :nod:

* * *

Chapter 7: Sword and Tempest

Guest: The spells did change his target, though he was acting irrational at the time as well due to the Familiar Bond, so it's a combination of various factors leading to that outcome.

Guest: Yep, gotcha on that but I'll leave it as T for now.

Guest: I'll just reaffirm what I said for your previous review (If you're the same reviewer)

Battle: Ahaha, glad you realized it. Yeah, he doesn't have the FSN Fragarach, since I figured it was too cheap. That, the fact that I want to show Emiya using swords inspired by 'True' mythology, so to speak, and the fact that it's single use is primarily why it's changed.

Fragarach: You get a cookie. A double chocolate chip one. :nods:

Guest: Yep, something like that.

Guest: It's both 'Retaliation' and a 'Sword of Retrograde', since it reverses time to the start and gouges the heart of the user before they attack, so I used the latter name as clarification of the difference between the two Fragarachs.

Guest: Glad you like it, and I'm happy it was balanced properly. Yeah, good intentions do pave the road to hell, as they say. As for Karin being a sociopath, I think of it more as mental trauma of various sorts... or something like that. What's "GoT" though? Game of Thrones?

Anrotu: Thank you for the praise, and I'll do my best.


	8. Sword of Origin: Day of the Void I

**_Sword of Origin: Day of the Void I_**

* * *

A/N: This is the first quarter of the chapter. I didn't quite finish it, so I'll leave this here as a sort of teaser while I work on the rest of it. Expect it to come out tomorrow or the day after that.

* * *

Louise woke up to a strange experience, namely floating in mid-air.

"Gah!"

She floundered around for a moment, trying to get her feet back on the ground.

Was this Heaven? Did she just imagine succeeding in magic after jumping off the tower? No... that couldn't be right. Even if she had, she wouldn't be in Heaven then, but rather-

"Look who's awake."

A smug voice, one she had learned to associate with merciless teasing.

_Brimir help me. I'm actually in hell._

Kirche came into Louise's field of vision, a smile on her face.

"A pity you woke up so late, Valliere. You missed out on the most _wonderful_ show."

Louise growled. "Let me down, Zerbst!"

Even if Kirche had helped Louise, she still couldn't stand being in the presence of the Germanian. And Louise definitely didn't appreciate having that smug tanned face as the first thing she saw when she woke up.

Kirche turned her head to the side, looking at someone Louise couldn't see. "Well... what do you think, darling?"

"Stop teasing my Master, Kirche. She's had enough stress for a lifetime."

That voice... Emiya?

Kirche sighed. "If that's what you want, darling. Tabitha?"

Louise had the sudden sensation of falling. It brought back the memory of jumping off the tower, and Louise closed her eyes, bracing for the impact. Unlike her first experience of vertigo, however, this one ended abruptly as a pair of powerful arms caught her.

"Don't worry, Master. You're safe."

Louise opened her eyes to see Emiya looking down at her, his face set in his familiar calm expression.

Flustered, she resorted to her usual high-handed self. "W-what do you think you're doing, Emiya?! Put me down this instant!"

She regretted the words the instant they came out of her mouth, but all Emiya did was smile and nod.

"As you wish, Master."

Before she could protest him calling her that and apologize, he had set her down next to him on her feet.

Louise wobbled a bit, her legs unsteady from prolonged bed rest, but she managed to maintain balance by holding on to Emiya. When she was sure her legs wouldn't give out from under her, she took a step back and examined her surroundings.

It looked like she had woken up just as they arrived back at the academy. Why they were outside the school grounds in the first place was a mystery to her, however.

That maid, Siesta, was there with them, hovering close by Emiya's left side, while Kirche clung onto the man's right arm.

The maid seemed to be in stunned awe, and kept glancing between Emiya and the area behind them with wide eyes.

Kirche, meanwhile, had her entire body pressed against Emiya in what was an obvious attempt at enthralling him.

Louise took a deep breath. That was fine. Kirche could do all she wanted, but Emiya wouldn't leave Louise for the Zerbst. He had promised to stay by her Louise's side and protect her. And he _had_ protected her, even if she didn't show proper gratitude for it.

That brought back a memory of how she had reacted to Emiya right after the... incident.

Louise shook her head, clearing it of the negative thoughts, and kept looking around.

Tabitha, the quiet girl that was always reading a book in their classes, was walking behind them all. Like always, she had a large tome in hand, with her oversized crooked staff slung against her back.

They were all walking back towards the castle interior along the paved stone path. The outer walls were already behind them and the central tower was in front of them, drawing closer with every step.

Needless to say, Louise was confused.

"Emiya. Why were we outside? And why is _she_ here with us?"

Again, even if Kirche had helped her during the... incident, Louise wasn't about to forget the year of torment the Zerbst had caused.

...Though they never were as mean-spirited as some of the others...

"Ah."

Emiya's voice drew Louise out of her thoughts.

"You jumped out of your bedroom window a few days ago, Master. After that, it seems that your mother took offense and blamed me for it. The duel between us just finished a few moments before you woke up, and now we're heading back to ensure that she doesn't kill the Headmaster."

Louise blinked._ What?_

"It was a marvelous duel!"

Kirche pressed herself even closer to Emiya and turned to face Louise. "Unwavering pride, burning determination in both your mother and Emiya... ooh, the sheer passion that darling showed in that battle makes me-"

Emiya sighed, running his free hand through his hair. "Kirche. Would you please stop that? I've already told you that I'm not interested."

Kirche smirked in response. "Oh, but you will be, darling. You just don't know it yet."

Louise opened her mouth to admonish Kirche's lewd behavior, which had jumpstarted her brain after Emiya's revelation, but then closed it when she remembered that, yes, Emiya had just fought her mother in a duel and either won or- actually, the only way he would still be alive would be if he had won.

Emiya, Louise's summoned familiar... her contracted servant had dueled her mother, Karin the Heavy Wind. The same Heavy Wind whose mere presence was enough to send entire companies of Germanian troops into a disorderly retreat. The Heavy Wind who was recorded as the strongest wind mage in Tristain's written history.

Emiya had dueled her and _won_.

Louise blinked again as her mind tried to wrap itself around the impossible conclusion.

* * *

Emiya sighed when he saw Louise suddenly stop mid-stride.

It seemed that the recent events were too much for his Master's mind, and she had gone into a sort of shock with the revelation.

Considering what she had been through prior to waking, it wasn't too surprising, but he was still concerned.

"Kirche."

The red-head looked between Louise and Emiya, then sighed. "Fine... go attend to your 'Master' then, darling."

He gave a brief nod at Siesta as he passed her, grateful for her silence in this time, and then grabbed Louise's hand.

"Master. Let's go. There will be plenty of time to talk once we're inside."

Lost in her thoughts, Louise only gave him a weak nod and let him guide her.

Assured that she was following, Emiya turned back towards the tower and started walking, the other girls falling into step on either side of him.

It was quiet, all the girls seeming to want to give Louise some silence to mull over her thoughts. Well, it was that, or they were still in awe of what Emiya had done and were just too respectful to speak after his implied desire for silence between them.

...He really should check to see if there was a sword in his Reality Marble that increased the affection of the opposite sex after pitched combat. Knowing both Rin and Zelretch's disposition for pranks, he wouldn't put it past them to have snuck one in without his notice.

It should have been impossible, but considering the stubborn nature of the two dimension sliders...

_Hold on._

Something wasn't right there. A disconnect in his memories.

His last memory was that of a bright flash, a nuclear explosion, and then Louise's summoning ritual.

He recalled those who he was to protect, their appearance, and disposition, but he couldn't recall much else.

What had happened to them and their children? Why was he trying to stop a nuclear warhead?

A sudden sense that there was something _wrong_ in the air drew him out of his contemplation.

He scanned the surroundings with his eyes, using his 'perception' to pinpoint the source of the distortion.

_A bounded field...? How did I miss that?_

It was subtle, but even a third-rate magus, as Rin liked to put it, like him who had little to no training in thaumaturgy, could detect it.

"Oof!"

Louise stumbled, having run into Emiya's back. "What do you think you're doing, Emiya?"

He ignored her, focusing on the bounded field.

It was obvious, but subtle. Obvious in that even someone like him could detect it, but subtle in that its effects were such that you wouldn't realize it was a bounded field.

A slight taint, a negativity in the air that drew out one's darker nature. An amplification of baser instincts, something that didn't affect a person much on a first exposure, but could change the entire character of a person in prolonged contact.

He recognized it. This was what he had felt he overlooked on that day when Louise was in trouble.

He had already gotten a sense of the difference between the magic of this world and his, distinguished the 'character' of each system, so to speak. While this world's magic was more powerful and potent, the magic of his world was more focused and subtle.

This wasn't the work of a Noble.

This was the work of a Magus, one skilled enough to place a bounded field upon the school between the first night he was summoned and the following day of the incident without his notice.

What else could he have done in that time?

"Emiya! Why aren't you listening to me!?"

Louise was standing in front of him, her eyes narrowed with anger-

_That's it._

The reason why no teachers had been on watch during lunch. Why the headmaster and that professor were so irrational.

Because of that, Tristain's greatest wind mage had been drawn to the academy.

Could it be that it was all planned...? That they were expecting him to react in such a way?

"Hey, Emiya-!"

He ignored the startled shouts of both his Master and Kirche as he ran back out the door, his instincts suddenly on high alert as the pieces fell into place.

* * *

Louise blinked at the fading iron sword that had taken Emiya's place. "What-?"

She didn't have time to think about it.

Almost immediately after, the entire tower shook as deafening winds battered ancient stone.

Emiya had left them just as they entered the tower's main hall, running back out before disappearing.

Kirche rushed to Louise's side, steadying her before she could fall. Tabitha quickly followed her inside, staff held at the ready and eyes scanning the surroundings for threats.

Siesta stuck close to the Mages, realizing she was in danger otherwise, though she tended towards Louise than the other girls.

The students that had been lingering in the main hall panicked, wands drawn and accusations thrown.

Kirche held tight to Louise as an explosion sounded, rocking the tower once more.

The explosion seemed to have knocked some sense into the crowd of students, as they turned their attention outwards rather than towards each other.

Most dispersed back outside the tower, though others ran up the stairs to get a better view of the impending events.

Whether you would call that smart though was something Louise couldn't say as a second explosion rocked the tower.

"Are you alright, Louise?"

She blinked at the feminine voice at her ear, and then realized that she was clinging to Kirche, like she would have her older sister.

Louise immediately jumped to her feet, putting space between her and Kirche. "I-I didn't ask for your help, Zerbst!"

Kirche got to her feet as well, a frown on her face. "This isn't the time for that, Louise!"

Tabitha nodded. "Dangerous. Your mother... attack."

Louise frowned at Tabitha's curt words, and then realized what she meant.

Siesta brushed the dust off her uniform and turned towards Kirche. "Did Lady Karin get upset at losing to Sir Emiya?"

"No," she replied. "Well, maybe. The first tremor was caused by a wind spell, but the second one-"

"Earth." Tabitha interjected and tilted her head, as if listening to something in the distance. "Golem."

Another explosion sounded. But this time, it was followed by the sound of crumbling stone and shifting dirt.

Kirche clucked her tongue and turned towards Louise. "Looks like your mother wasn't the only visitor to the academy today. Here." She tossed something at Louise.

Louise caught it, and saw that it was her wand.

"Looks like we're going to have to put those explosions of yours to good use, Valliere."

Half a dozen shadowy wolves with crimson eyes emerged from the ground, turning their hungry gaze on the girls standing in the main hall.

"Try not to die, alright? Darling would be so very upset if you did."


	9. Sword of Origin: Day of the Void II

A/N: Wow. I just noticed that this story has over a 1000 follows, as well as over 800 favs. I'm flattered by all the attention this story's getting, especially since I'm well aware of the flawed and loose plot threads I've been spinning (never been too good in the big picture execution). While I'm not too sure how this will all end, or if it will end well, I'm glad you're all along for the ride. Make sure to point things out if they're confusing, and I'll do my best to remedy it.

On a side note, sorry if I missed any reviews in my last run of replies. By the time I remembered I had to do those, I had forgotten which I had yet to reply and some were answered by the events in this chapter so...

Anyway, if you still want a response to something, could you send a PM? That'd ensure I don't miss it.

That being said, let's get this chapter started.

* * *

**_Sword of Origin: Day of the Void II_**

When he arrived on the windowsill outside the Headmaster's office, Emiya realized the source of the taint in the air.

Angra Mainyu, All the Evil in the World.

He didn't understand how it was here, especially after he recalled eradicating it from existence, but he could think about that later. Right now he had to get rid of its source, and fast.

Angra Mainyu was already corrosive. Though what was present wasn't its entire essence, which could drive a person insane with the sheer malevolence of the curses and sins it carried, this fragment that had been woven into the bounded field was potent enough to align a person with the seven deadly sins.

Lust.

Gluttony.

Greed.

Sloth.

Wrath.

Envy.

Pride.

With that in mind, it was apparent why the recent events had unfolded.

The Headmaster had been inflicted with 'sloth' and 'pride', refusing to see wrong and acting slow to correct what he couldn't ignore.

That professor had been inflicted with 'wrath' and 'pride', jumping to conclusions and refusing to ignore his righteous fury for rationale.

That student that died had fallen to lust, ignoring all danger to satisfy that desire.

It was a bit strange why some people, like Kirche, Louise, and that blue-haired girl weren't affected, but that didn't matter at the moment. Left unchecked, this bounded field would expand and cause the entire country to descend into chaos. While it was still contained within the school's campus, he doubted that it would remain so for much longer.

Emiya forced his attention back on the present. He had a goal, and all that was left to do was accomplish it.

He stabbed a sword into the tower for a handhold and then took a closer look inside the window.

_The trail of darkness leads here-_

"...So it has come to this after all, Old Osmond. It seems that your time as the Headmaster of this academy has turned you senile."

Emiya froze upon hearing that steely voice.

_Bad. This was really bad._

"Hmph. Senile? No, you just can't see what's good for Tristain anymore, Heavy Wind. It doesn't surprise me, considering how long you've hidden in that estate of yours."

Karin was inside the office, standing in front of the Headmaster. But that wasn't what concerned him. It would serve the old man right to be knocked down a few pegs after what he had planned to let Louise become. No, what concerned Emiya was the fact that the Headmaster was the source of the taint in the air.

_How did I miss that?_

He narrowed his eyes, taking a closer look at the Headmaster.

_...That's concerning._

It wasn't that Emiya's senses had failed, or that the Headmaster was just revealing his true nature. No, what was happening was that he had a fragment of Angra Mainyu buried in his very heart. A fragment that had somehow lain dormant until this very instant, when he was confronted with Karin.

Whoever the Magus was that had infiltrated the Academy was good. Dangerously so. Not only had they managed to bypass him entirely, but they had somehow also managed to obtain a dormant fragment of Angra Mainyu, embed it in the very core of the Headmaster, erect a bounded field that fed off of the fragment of Angra Mainyu, and then set it up so that the fragment would become active when Karin confronted the Headmaster.

It was such a convoluted and improbably series of actions that it made Emiya wonder if he was losing his touch. It had been far too long since he had faced someone who worked in the shadows like this mysterious Magus.

A surge of mana. That was Emiya's only warning.

He summoned his version of Fragarach just as a torrent of howling winds blew out the window he was standing in front of and rocked the entire tower.

The control over the wind that his sword gave him allowed Emiya to stay aloft as the hurricane force winds swirled around the tower. It also let him see the intense duel that was occurring inside the Headmaster's office.

Karin and the Headmaster were engaged in a fierce duel, the two wind mages attacking the other with powerful spells.

Karin should have had the advantage, due to her sheer power and skill, as well as her relative youth compared to the Headmaster. But after her duel with Emiya, she wasn't able to use her full abilities. Because of that, the duel was more matched than it would have been if she was well-rested.

But that wasn't the only reason when Karin didn't just crush the Headmaster.

It seemed that the fragment of Angra Mainyu did more than just taint his soul and change his personality. The Headmaster's wind spells were imbued with an aspect of 'corruption', elevating the power just enough to match Karin's own howling winds. Not only that, but the fragment of Angra Mainyu seemed to be applying a sort of passive reinforcement to the elderly man's body, giving him the physical capabilities to match Karin and allowing him feats he should not have been able to perform in his advanced age.

It had only been a brief moment, but their vicious exchange had already devastated the office. At the rate they were going, Emiya wouldn't be surprised if the whole tower was destroyed.

He couldn't allow that.

_His body is made of blades._

A brief search in his inner world, choosing the best weapons for his course of action. Identical swords with a plain silver blade and unadorned red hilt, modeled after a cross.

Karin and the Headmaster had changed positions since the battle started, with the Heavy Wind now facing the window and the Headmaster facing away from it.

"Trigger, off."

It was barely a murmur. If Karin hadn't been positioned as she was, she would have been caught in the attack as well. But she wasn't, jumping out of the way the moment that the blades appeared in the air and leaving the Headmaster as the only target for Emiya's attack.

The Headmaster was quick, however, and age had not dulled his reflexes. The moment Karin began moving, the Headmaster spun around, already chanting a spell to deflect the attack. Again, that aspect of 'corruption' filled his spell, giving it power equal to an A-ranked attack.

The Black Keys cut through the malevolent wind with ease, piercing the Headmaster's body.

-Emiya wasn't sure if it would work. The Black Keys were meant to be used for purification, but he had never tested it against Angra Mainyu's power. It was impossible, after all, since he had destroyed all traces of it from existence. But since the Zoroaster God was an incarnation of sin and evil, the blades should be effective.

Unfortunately, it seemed that he had underestimated the efficacy of the Black Keys.

Since they were conceptual weapons of purification operating on the belief of Catholicism, which worshipped an omnipotent, omnipresent, and omnibenevolent 'Creator', if they struck a target with the same belief the power of the weapons would be enhanced.

On that same line of reasoning, if the person using it believed in that 'Creator' as well, the power of the Black Keys would be absolute.

While he didn't know it at the time, the people of Halkeginia were very much Catholics, even if followers of a diluted version of it.

And since Emiya himself was the 'Sword' of someone who fit said criteria for a 'Creator', the second criteria was fulfilled.

So, when the Black Keys struck the Headmaster, with the intent to purify him of the evil presence in his heart, they had more of an effect than Emiya intended.

There was a flash of blinding light, and a surge of mana.

Like he planned, the Headmaster was purified of Angra Mainyu's taint, making the mind of the Headmaster his own once more.

Unlike he planned, the intrinsic nature of the Black Keys to return its target to their original form dispelled all of the enchantments and spells on the Headmaster, turning them back into pure prana. Among those were the bounded field anchored to his being, as well as the enchantments that a Headmaster of a magical academy had access to in order to keep the school running smoothly.

And also unplanned was the fact that the fragment of Angra Mainyu was not destroyed, but only expelled, unanchored and unrestrained.

Emiya felt over a dozen malevolent presences appear throughout the school. Incarnations of evil, borne from the fragment of Angra Mainyu.

Immediately after that, an explosion rocked the tower.

_A coordinated attack?_

"Emiya." Karin staggered to her feet from behind the desk, her eyes flitting from the Headmaster's prone and uninjured form to Emiya, who was hovering outside the window with a small whirlwind. "What did you do?"

Another explosion, though this one was more distant.

"I'll tell you later. Talk to the Headmaster when he wakes up. It might prove enlightening."

With those words, Emiya turned away from Karin, ignoring her heated protests.

His Master was in danger, and he had to protect her.

Nothing else mattered.

* * *

Matilda stared at the Academy vault, not believing her luck.

Gold, jewels, antique magical items. They were everywhere, and they were all for her taking.

"And he only wants this?"

She gave the crimson lance, or 'Staff of Destruction' as it was labeled, and the box of cards next to it a skeptical glance.

Matilda had been thinking about raiding the vault ever since she arrived at the Academy. It was the reason she accepted a job under that filthy, disgusting, perverted Headmaster to begin with. She had been willing to suffer the blatant sexual harassment for the future pay-off of countless riches that the vault held, as well as the reputation of stealing from the 'safest place in Tristain'.

The problem had been that she didn't know how to get in.

At first, she had planned on manipulating Professor Colbert into telling her the secret, but then there had been that incident with the death of a Germanian student. Since then, the school had been thrown into chaos, and she didn't want to risk getting involved with the undeniably powerful Mage that the Valliere had summoned.

Only a square-class Earth Mage could have created that many swords when he was summoned, and the way he had reacted when confronted with both Old Osmond and Colbert, who Matilda knew to be at least high ranking triangle mages if not square, was enough to deter her of any thoughts of raiding the legendary vault.

Any remaining doubts were utterly annihilated when word came that the Heavy Wind itself was coming to visit the Academy.

When she heard that, Matilda, also known as Miss Longueville, had dropped everything and prepared to run. Today had been the day of the duel. During that time, she had planned to use the distraction to flee, slipping out of the academy during the ensuing chaos.

But then she received the letter.

When she started reading it, Matilda had been tempted to just burn the letter. After all, who would be insane enough to perform a robbery while the Heavy Wind was present?

But when she had finished reading it, Matilda realized she didn't have a choice in the matter.

_...I am aware of this job's inherent danger, Fouquet, but I am sure an illustrious thief like yourself is more than capable of it. I need not remind you of the benefits should you succeed... but just as an added incentive, I would like to say that I have recently found a charming orphanage called Westwood in the forests of Albion..._

She resisted the urge to vent her frustrations on the vault walls, and instead handed off her spoils to the three golems she created to hold her stolen goods. "Stupid reputation... I knew I should have just become a craftswoman."

Still, the job was turning out well, despite the blackmail. Whoever her mysterious client was, they had done their best to minimize her involvement.

The only instructions on the letter were to create her trademark golem in the courtyard when she was about to start the job. After that, a 'friend' would take the role of Fouquet, leaving her the sole task of raiding the vault. A task which had been even easier than expected when all of the enchantments on the door suddenly failed a few moments after arriving.

In fact, it was almost going too easy, something that had Matilda's instincts on high alert.

None of the staff had been on patrol. The normally omnipresent throng of students in the halls were mysteriously lacking. And even the usual sounds of academy life, students bickering, professors scolding, and familiars chirping... or whatever sound that the familiars made, were missing.

Matilda ordered her golems to follow her and made her way back towards the large double doors that served as the entrance to the vault.

It was only because of the eerie silence that Matilda realized someone was approaching the vault. She froze, making a silent plea that it wasn't that Mage familiar or the Heavy Wind coming to check on the vault.

"...Stupid Montmorency. To think that I have fallen for Valliere... does she not understand how much the Gramont owes their family? It was a civil duty- nay, an obligation to step in! And does she not realize what those... those _dégénéré_ were planning on doing? For me to ignore such a thing- nay, for any man to ignore such a thing..."

_Ah, it's just that brat._

It was that blonde womanizing student. There was no way Matilda could mistake that voice, especially with the constant flirting he did whenever he saw her.

She waited until his footsteps were just outside the vault, and then had one of her golems ram the doors. Unexpectedly, they completely shattered instead of blasting off their hinges like Matilda thought they would.

Instead of being pinned against the wall by the doors, the student was launched through the air by Matilda's golem.

He landed against the stone wall with a heavy thud, and then slid to the floor, knocked out. Fortunately, he didn't seem to be seriously injured.

Matilda exited the vault right after that, her other two golem following, and took a quick glance back at the blonde student leaning against the wall. "...Sorry kid, but I'm in a rush."

With that brief statement, Matilda made her escape, leaving behind a brief note that 'Fouquet the Crumbling Dirt' had stolen from the Academy Vault while the Heavy Wind was there.

But unbeknownst to her, Guiche wasn't quite as unconscious as Matilda thought him to be. The moment before his vision faded to black, he caught the face of his attacker.

"Ms... Longueville...?"

* * *

A shadowy wolf leapt towards Louise, its jaw opened to reveal wicked sharp teeth.

"Fireball!"

A sudden localized explosion tore it apart, dark splotches falling back to the ground and turning back into ordinary shadows.

Louise took a moment to sigh in relief, but was quickly on the move again as more wolves appeared from the ground.

It was chaos.

After the opening exchange in the main hall, the battle against the wolves was moved outside to the grassy courtyard. Between Kirche's fire and Tabitha's ice, the strange creatures had been blasted left and right, clearing the way for their group to change the field of battle.

At the moment, both of them had taken to the air on Tabitha's dragon, and were doing their best to keep the majority of the wolves away from Louise and Siesta. But there were too many to stop all of them from getting through.

It didn't help that Louise seemed to be the only one capable of putting the wolves down permanently.

"To your left, Miss Louise!"

Louise ground her teeth and spun, her wand snapping to launch another spell. "Fireball!"

Yet another wolf was blown apart with her magic.

Yes, _her_ magic.

Despite the dire situation, Louise couldn't help but feel giddy. She was useful. She wasn't the 'Zero' anymore. She could actually _do_ something, even if it was just fight.

She gave a quick glance to the maid behind her. Siesta had chosen to follow Louise for some reason instead of staying inside, but she was grateful for it. Even though the commoner couldn't use magic, without Siesta's warnings, Louise doubted that both of them would have lasted as long as they had.

She looked up in time to see yet another wolf jump towards her. But Louise had gotten used to their patterns by now. Without a shred of fear, she raised her wand again and incanted, "Fireball!"

...Nothing happened.

It was too late for another attempt. Louise could see the gaping maw of the wolf getting closer and closer, unable to do anything about it-

She was suddenly pulled out of the way, and found herself being led by the hand in another direction.

"Miss Louise! Now's not the time to freeze up!"

Siesta had saved her. A commoner had managed to save her life.

Louise scowled and tried to pull her hand away. "I don't need your-"

Siesta refused to let go, forcing Louise to keep pace with her. "Sir Emiya would be upset if you died, Miss Louise! You can't be so careless!"

_Ah._

That was right. She couldn't leave him. She couldn't be another regret for the one who already had too many.

"F-fine! But I still don't need your help! I can run fine on my own!"

She pulled her hand away from Siesta, and then took a quick look around.

Kirche and Tabitha had managed to knock the wolf back with a barrage of spells, scattering it back into shadows, but it reformed in an instant. And it wasn't the only one who wanted to get Louise. The other wolves had stopped running around in a disorderly mess, and honed their crimson eyes on Louise.

"This isn't good..."

They might be safe right now, running back and forth, but Louise was tiring. She had never been good at physical activities, and after a year of nothing but studying, she was in even worse shape than she had been when she enrolled.

A glance back at Siesta showed that she still had breath to spare, not even winded yet.

_Stupid commoners and their stupid stamina._

The only way out of this mess was if Louise managed to kill all of the wolves. But she didn't have anymore willpower. That was apparent after her last spell failed, and not in the explosive way they usually did.

_Emiya, where are you?_

If only he was here, everything would be alright. Louise wouldn't have to be running like a stupid commoner with a stupid commoner that didn't seem to tire. And she wouldn't have to deal with stupid shadow wolves that just didn't die when they were killed by people other than Louise.

A wolf suddenly sprung up from the ground, gnashing its teeth in a leap towards her. It was too fast to react to, too sudden for Louise to do anything more than stare at her impending death.

She froze.

Kirche and Tabitha were too busy trying to keep the rest of the wolves from surrounding Louise and Siesta to notice it. There was no way she would get help from them. Emiya was somewhere else, having disappeared to do Brimir knows what.

Louise closed her eyes and waited for the end. _Just when I could do something..._

She suddenly found herself shoved to the side. A moment after that, she felt something warm splatter on her. A copper scent filled the air, followed by a stifled scream.

Louise opened her eyes, and her world came crashing down.

"Hah... are you... alright, Miss Louise?"

Louise was numb. Her mind was blank, staring at a scene that she couldn't process.

That commoner maid... Siesta. She had pushed Louise out of the way, taking the wolf's attack in her stead. Blood. There was so much blood. Siesta's outfit was stained crimson by it, steeped in _blood_.

The wolf's attack had taken it past the two young woman, and the change in targets caused it to get an awkward landing. It rolled, and looked a bit disoriented, but there was no doubt that the confusion would be short. It wasn't an ordinary dangerous animal.

"Ah... you are." A cough, wet and weak. "Please run. There's little time. My... I might be able to distract them for a few moments, but-"

Louise couldn't bear to listen anymore. Siesta, who had no obligation to Louise other than her job, was willing to throw her life away. Just to buy Louise some more time, the maid was even willing to die. She had already saved Louise from a lethal attack. Twice now, she had done it.

"...Why?"

Louise couldn't understand it. Why? Why would she go through all this? Siesta was a commoner, and Louise was sure she had family to go back to. That was probably the reason she took a job at the academy in the first place. For commoners, family was most important, and they would do anything for their dear siblings and parents. So for Siesta to just throw that away for Louise...

A growl, one soon joined by others. The wolf had been joined by others, and there would be no Kirche, Tabitha, or Emiya to save them.

Siesta looked at Louise and gave her a pained smile. "I just... wanted to protect you. That's all, Miss Louise."

Worthless. Prideful. Arrogant. A _zero_.

Louise didn't deserve to be protected. But Emiya had denied that. Said that she was someone he would protect (though he was doing a terrible job at the moment) and was someone he _had_ protected.

Kirche hadn't said it outright yet, but it was beginning to look like the Zerbst cared about Louise as well (even if she had taunted her in the past) and regretted her actions in the past.

And now Siesta, a commoner who by all rights should despise Louise (who had admittedly been nothing more than insufferable brat to the commoners ever since she arrived) was willing to give up her life so that Louise could live, even for just a few more moments.

"...This isn't right," Louise muttered.

"Miss Louise. Please, before the wolves are upon us. Run!"

Louise had been fine with dying. She was worthless. A failure. Nothing more than a burden to those around her. Nothing more than a _zero_. She had accepted her lot in life, even if she wished desperately for it not to be true. So if someone had to die, it should be her.

...But Siesta was saying that was wrong. That she was worth protecting. That she was someone another person wanted to protect. That she was someone Siesta would give her life for.

"Miss Louise!"

Siesta's voice was frantic, and she struggled to get up, trying to spur Louise into action. The wolves were charging. Half a dozen in all directions. Kirche and Tabitha saw it, but could not do anything to help. And Emiya was nowhere to be seen.

Louise raised her wand, glaring at the approaching pack of wolves. _It's fine if I die, but I won't let anyone else! _

A trigger.

Louise didn't know what she was thinking. She didn't know what she was doing, or how she could save Siesta and herself from their fast approaching deaths.

Idly, she noted a towering stone figure somewhere nearby and Emiya's voice call out, but she ignored it.

Trusting in the incantation she used on that night, and pouring all of her heart into those words, she spoke.

"I am the bone of my sword...!"

* * *

Emiya had turned around, intending to return to the ground to help his Master.

His plans were interrupted by a giant stone fist appearing out of nowhere to knock him out of the air.

Emiya narrowed his eyes. "Trace on."

A deluge of steel, projected and flawed blades, came into existence to meet the stone appendage. But even as flawed as they were, it was more than enough to deal with simple stone.

The fist was destroyed, along with the entire arm that it belonged to.

A brief pause allowed Emiya to examine this new opponent.

-A golem. One about the same size as Merem Solomon's demonic right arm. But unlike the towering mechanoid weapon that Merem's arm was, this one was simplistic, a giant titan of stone that was made for sheer brute force. And standing on top of the golem on its head was a figure in black, cloaked by some form of darkness.

...Something was familiar about that figure, but Emiya couldn't discern just what that was. Troubling. But more troubling was the fact that he had missed the golem.

Emiya hadn't been mistaken. There had not been a thirty meter tall golem when he stopped the Headmaster. And it would have been impossible for it to be brought to the academy without notice.

"Presence concealment...? Assassin?"

He shook his head. Louise needed him. This golem could wait.

Slow, cumbersome. It wasn't an immediate threat, unlike the pieces of Angra Mainyu roaming the academy-

Another stone fist appeared in front of him, faster than any normal stone construct should be able of moving.

Emiya was sent flying through the air, away from the tower and away from the academy.

Before he flew too far, he launched one of his blades towards the golem and switched places with it. His backwards velocity was turned forwards, and he soon approached his opponent.

A glance down towards the ground revealed his Master being surrounded by a pack of shadowy wolves. She was managing to hold them off with the help of Kirche and Tabitha, who were riding a dragon and providing aerial support, but it was clear that it wouldn't last long.

He couldn't afford to waste anytime dealing with this enemy, even if it might be a Servant.

He held his hand out in front of him, intending to project another volley of swords, one large enough to destroy the golem in its entirety.

And then the golem _moved_, suddenly closing the distance between them. Not only that, but its body had shifted into a stance that Emiya identified as Chinese Martial Arts, something that a stone construct of that size should definitely not be able to do.

_Change of plans._

A volley of blades wouldn't do. If the golem was capable of moving at that speed, with that agility, then it was likely that Emiya's attack would be thwarted. Instead, he had to end this in one shot, with an attack that could eliminate the golem, and yet prevent collateral damage.

His high-ranking Noble Phantasms were swords meant to be used in situations where he could afford to be careless. The majority of his blades were low-ranked, and could possibly break if he executed the attack he had in mind.

Something that could cleave through stone and earth. A large blade that he needn't worry about breaking.

_His body is made of blades._

A sword appeared in his hand. A great sword with a demonic aura. An obsidian blade, curved at the top and with crimson and gold inlays. Forged from the image of a blade that could chop even the tops off of hills, it was the perfect blade for this situation.

_Synchronizing with accumulated experience..._

A style of the sword that allowed attacks at godspeed. One created to annihilate the hundred heads of the hydra in a single blow.

A hidden technique that performed three strikes at once, created by a nameless swordsman to cut down a swallow mid-flight.

_Excel all processes._

Time resumed.

The golem's remaining fist surged forward.

"Caladbolg: Nine Lives Reversal."

Time and space screeched as a hundred simultaneous slashes in every direction converged upon the golem.

As expected, the golem vanished, utterly annihilated under Emiya's attack.

Unexpectedly, its controller was not.

The figure in black remained floating in mid-air, watching as Emiya fell towards it. "...You have gotten stronger, Emiya Shirou. Good. This war might be a challenge yet."

The words were concerning, but Emiya disregarded them.

A glance towards the ground showed that his Master was surrounded by wolves, the form that Angra Mainyu had taken.

He had no time to waste.

Once more, time and space screeched, as Emiya performed an unavoidable attack to cut down the mysterious figure.

His blade struck nothing but shadows, and he continued his descent towards the ground. But even so, the figure's voice remained for a brief moment. "...Try to protect your Master. Having a girl you save die in front of you hits pretty hard."

The words confused Emiya, but then he took a glance back towards the ground. "LOUISE!"

His Master was surrounded by the wolves. Siesta had been injured and looked like she would die of blood loss soon. Tabitha and Kirche were too busy trying to stop the other wolves coming out from the rest of the academy.

He launched a sword towards the ground at the highest velocity he could and then switched places with it.

He would _not_ fail Louise. Not after he had sworn to protect her. Not after he had assured her that she would be safe so long as he was by her side.

A brief moment until he reached the ground-

_I am the bone of my sword._

-and then he felt a sudden drain on his circuits.

* * *

A sword appeared in her hands. Slim and worn, with a grip similar to a wand. It was familiar, but at the moment, all Louise cared about was that she had a way to fight back.

_Error: Mismatch. System failure._

Louise coughed, red flecks following in its wake.

She could hear the grating of metal in her ears. See her breath come out as steam from a body _(steel is my body and fire is my blood)_ that was burning up, with her blood boiling in her veins.

She stood up, ignoring all of that. Even though her body felt like it would break, even though her bones were being ground to dust, she stood up.

_Error: Insufficient data. Cannot read accumulated history._

_Error: Invalid Origin and Alignment._

_Error: Invalid user._

_Error. Error. Err- _

_Voiding..._

There were six wolves.

The first reached her, its dark maw open to tear her apart.

Louise ground her teeth, ignoring the pain, and raised her sword. _Move, you stupid body!_

The wolf was suddenly cut in half, as well as the two behind it, by a vicious wind spell, borne from Louise's sword. Again, it was familiar, and Louise knew she had seen someone else perform that very attack with a sword all too similar to the one she was wielding. But she didn't have time to think.

From behind, another wolf. This one had its limbs outstretched, serrated talons reaching out to slash Louise in half, if not pin her down so the wolf's teeth could finish the rest.

Louise muttered an incantation she didn't know, enhancing her body with wind. With that boost, she surged towards the wolf, meeting its charge midway with her own, and pierced it with her sword. Another muttered incantation and it was shredded, blown apart by a miniature whirlwind from within.

_Error: Insufficient prana._

_Error: Insufficient capacity._

Her vision was dim. Her body was on the verge of collapse, and Louise didn't know if she could take another step, let alone deal with the other three wolves.

_Begin shutd-_

_Voiding..._

A sudden surge of energy cleared her vision, just in time to see another wolf attack.

Her body moved on its own, performing nine overlapping slashes that tore it apart.

_Error: Invalid use-_

_Voiding..._

The final two wolves were cautious and circled around to attack Louise from two fronts.

She didn't move, only holding her sword like a knight before their liege.

There was no mistaking the next spell.

Karin's own Heavy Wind tore apart the remaining wolves, the spell centered around Louise and Siesta, protecting the two girls from its razor winds.

Louise's sword broke, shattering into fragments of light, and she staggered. Her body was wracked with pain, and she had a sudden coughing fit. When she covered her mouth with her hand, blood splattered into it, dying her pale skin an alarming red. And her body still felt like it _(withstood pain to create weapons, waiting for one's arrival)_ was on fire.

A pair of strong arms wrapped themselves around her, catching Louise before she fell down from the pain.

"So that's how it is... What a troublesome Master you are, Louise."

She let out a sigh, but then remembered about Siesta. "Emiya, you have to-"

"Miss Tabitha is tending to Siesta, Master. You don't need to worry. Just rest."

This time when Louise sighed, she allowed herself to relax, sinking into Emiya's arms. "Good... but Emiya?"

She couldn't see his face, her vision turning black with her exhaustion, but she swore he was smiling. "Yes, Master?"

"Don't take so damned long next time, idiot."

And with that, Louise fell unconscious for the second time that week.

* * *

Emiya once again found himself in the Headmaster's office. Though trashed in the brief encounter against Karin, it had been fixed to a presentable level, enough to be used in a debriefing.

Like now.

"...Fortunately, there were no casualties. I managed to eliminate the few wolves roaming around the castle, while the other professors managed to contain them until I arrived."

Professor Colbert finished his report and then sat down in his chair.

After the chaos that occurred when Emiya 'purified' the Headmaster, the key figures involved were all gathered to get an accurate timeline of the events.

Namely, this included Emiya and Louise, Karin, the Headmaster (or Old Osmond as he insisted on being called), Professor Colbert, Tabitha, and Kirche.

While he had been against the inclusion of his Master, especially after her reckless attempt at projection, she had regained consciousness and insisted on attending.

Which led to their current situation, with Louise sitting by his side, Karin on his other, Tabitha and Kirche on Karin's left, Old Osmond sitting behind his desk, and Professor Colbert sitting in a chair just off to the side of the Headmaster's.

"I see," Old Osmond said. "Thank you for your vigilance, Professor Colbert. I know that..."

Emiya tuned out the conversation. For one, he didn't want to be there in the first place. His Master needed rest, especially after the trials she had gone through today, and every moment she wasn't receiving that wore on his already thin patience.

For another, he was confused.

"...and after Darl-, I mean after Emiya disappeared, there was an explosion. Being the kind soul that I am, went to Valliere's side... er, Louise's, I mean, and-"

That person who had controlled the golem. They had done so in a manner that no ordinary mage, or even magus could hope to imitate. And the way that it suddenly appeared was not ordinary. It was no simple invisibility magic or mystery that hid it from Emiya's sight. The only thing that could do that would be a Noble Phantasm, or an ability of a Servant.

"...There was an unknown party lurking around the academy, a hypnosis spell placed upon Old Osmond, and a break-in of the Academy Vault? By that thief Fouquet? I will not stand for anymore of this nonsense, Osmond. It is clear that the Valliere must take a more active approach..."

Then there was the cloaked figure's message to Emiya. His words implied that Emiya should know who the figure was. That they had met, and the man knew enough to not only gauge Emiya's strength, but firmly state that it had increased.

Could it be Zolgen? He had vanished after the events in the final Heaven's Feel, so that was a possibility. But he had mentioned a 'war', and that he would enjoy it. Not only that, but he warned Emiya about the pain of failing someone he swore to protect. That didn't match the description he had of the elderly magus. But time could change people, and if that man had been trapped here in this world for a period longer than Emiya had...

"...Very well. Seeing as we're missing an instructor after Professor Guiteau resigned, I have no objection to hiring you, Karin. Perhaps having the Heavy Wind as a professor will deter some of the more... wily students."

And then there was the bounded field and Angra Mainyu. Those were the final pieces of the puzzle. But only Zolgen would have access to that, and he was indeed a magus of high caliber. Such a feat wouldn't be outside his grasps, but then why do all this? He was not the type of man who wished for mindless destruction. Indeed, his ideal was ridding the world of 'All Evil'. But who else could it be...?

"...I don't think that's a good idea. You know how the other countries feel about Karin, Headmaster. If we suddenly hire her, especially after the... incident, it could be taken badly."

"And if we do not show a strong hand we risk being taken by surprise. You already saw the results of that, Professor Colbert. Even I, in my long experience, had been taken off guard and controlled. You, yourself, had been manipulated as well. Or have you not recalled the change in your personality over the last few days?"

...He couldn't think of anyone else, and that was concerning. The way that Emiya had been taken off guard was concerning as well. Clearly, he needed to redouble his vigilance. Today had been too close. Too frantic. He could not allow a repeat of the recent events.

"So it is settled. Karin shall remain on hand as an instructor, as she wishes, and also as the queen has decreed. She will also be the one to lead an expedition to retrieve the staff of destruction, as well as the other missing items..."

And then there was his Master to think of. He was unable to protect her as he should have. The reasoning for that was because he was too used to his charges being able to defend themselves as well, if only for a moment. Louise was still a child, green and untried. While she possessed potential, especially if she could summon Emiya as well as draw on his strengths, that potential was worthless until it was trained. That was his highest priority.

"...Now Sir Emiya. You have remained awfully quiet since this discussion began. Is there something you would like to say? Particularly in regards to how you knew to free me from that dark presence?"

Emiya looked up.

Kirche and Tabitha had left the room sometime in his contemplation, leaving only the adults, himself, and his Master. At the moment, their attention had been turned on him. Well, the adults that is. His Master was in and out, apparently half-asleep.

He blinked. "...Are we finished? My Master needs her rest after the day's-"

"Are you an elf?"

Karin's sharp voice cut off his protests.

_Elf?_

"Karin," the Headmaster said. "I don't believe-"

"No, Osmond. Don't interrupt." Karin fixed her gaze on Emiya. "The magic you used earlier... that was no simple wind magic, or earth magic. The blades you used were more than that. Enchanted. And the way you destroyed the golem... only Ancient Magic could have achieved that affect."

_So she saw._ He supposed that it should have been expected. She had a clear view of the battle from the window after all. But Ancient Magic? An Elf?

Louise burst out laughing. "Emiya? An Elf?"

Her fatigue was evident. He doubted that his Master would have done so had she been in a proper state of mind. This was her mother she was laughing at, after all.

"He might be powerful, mother, but Emiya's not an elf."

She paused and turned to him. "...Are you?"

He shook his head. "Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not an elf."

His existence was somewhat similar to the Fae folk, however, so that might have been a source of their confusion. Granted, he wasn't a being of Gaia or Alaya, but of an illusionary world.

"Then are you a Void Mage?"

The expressions on everyone's face after Karin said those words varied, but he could tell that the mood had shifted. There was a tension in the air that hadn't been present... no, not tension. More... anticipation?

He looked to his Master and saw that she had paled. "Void mage...?" Louise shook her head. "But Emiya's a wind and earth mage. It can't be... but then that would mean that I...?" She shook her head again.

Emiya turned towards Karin. "...What would you call a void mage?"

She hesitated to answer, as if not willing to accept her own words, and glanced at Louise with a sudden look of realization.

In the end, it was Professor Colbert who answered. "...Magic is already said to be a gift from the gods, given to us by founder Brimir. But the power of the void... only one has possessed it in the past. Founder Brimir, who laid the foundations for all the magic we now know and use." He hesitated. "Void magic... it is the power of the Creator Himself, drawing from everything and nothing. Creation... and destruction."

Emiya stilled.

The power of the Creator? Magic with a source of everything and nothing? Creation and destruction?

"I see."

He had been correct then. His Master who summoned him... the catalyst that pulled him of all those in existence...

"Then by that definition, yes. I am a Void Mage."

* * *

They were back in Louise's room. Emiya and his Master.

Louise had been quiet since they adjourned to her chambers, leaving the Headmaster's office and the 'adults' to take his words into consideration.

At the moment, she was sitting on her bed, staring off into space. Probably thinking over what had occurred.

Emiya was sitting on a chair off to the side. Far enough to give her space, yet close enough to reach her in an instant should there be a hidden threat.

He wasn't going to take any chances after the recent events. And just in case, he had placed a few... safeguards around the room as well, though Louise wouldn't notice unless he allowed it.

Better to ask for forgiveness than permission.

He waited. His Master had questions for him. That he didn't doubt. But he would rather she ask questions than volunteer information.

He had some of his own, after all. Like who this 'Founder Brimir' was, and if he truly possessed an ability similar to Emiya Shirou, or if it was just a fragment.

"...Emiya."

There it was. His Master's soft voice.

"Yes, Master?"

She frowned. "I thought we went over this already, Emiya. Call me Louise."

"...As you wish, Louise."

Her frowned deepened at his tone of voice, but she continued speaking. "Who are you?"

_Who am I? ...Does it even matter anymore?_ He was nothing more than a relic. An existence of a time that had long passed, even if those times were still fresh and unforgettable in his mind.

"...I have told you. I am Emiya Shirou, the Sword of Akasha. I will protect you."

Yes. That was who he was now, and that was all that mattered.

"The Sword of Akasha..." Louise muttered. "That's your runic name, isn't it?"

"Is that the name that embodies your magic?"

He had wondered about that, especially after that one student and the professor introduced themselves.

Louise nodded.

"Then yes. That is my runic name."

Truthfully, it was his only name. The one given to him by those he had protected, the one title allowed a being that should not exist, the tool of the one who had left them behind.

A moment of silence, and then Louise said, "So you are a void mage."

"And so are you, Louise."

She shook her head and let out a shaky laugh. "Unbelievable. Of all the familiars I could summon... no, of all the elements I could have..."

He could sense her inner turmoil. It was inevitable, considering what this 'void magic' was associated with. The power of the Creator... a path to Akasha. He wasn't sure if that was the nature of void magic yet, but considering what his Master... what Louise had been able to do back then.

...Ah. That reminded him. "Louise."

She looked up at him, confused at being suddenly addressed. "...Yes?"

"I had forgotten in the recent excitement, but you must not perform that magic again."

Another moment of silence, and then Louise spun towards him, her face indignant. "What do you mean I shouldn't use it!? It's mine, and I should be able to-"

"It is not yours."

She stopped for a moment, and then narrowed her eyes. "Explain."

"I would have thought it was obvious, Louise, after seeing my own magic."

Louise huffed. "Well, you use void magic! Of course it would be simil-"

"No. That was not void magic, Louise. That was _my_ magic. An inherent ability granted to me by E- by someone important. It is not something you can imitate... at least you shouldn't be able to."

"S-so? What, are you _jealous_ or something? Just because I can do it doesn't mean that-"

Mentally, Emiya let out a sigh. He had forgotten how stubborn teenagers could be.

"You are not listening to me, Louise. When I say that it was my magic, I mean it was _my magic_. I don't know how, but you managed to draw that ability from me, like... like you would draw mana from the air into your wand."

Louise blinked. "Our wands draw mana from the air?"

_Oh. She didn't know that?_

Emiya shook his head. "Either way, that was not your magic, Louise. It was... borrowed, in a manner of speaking. And the source of it are these runes."

"Oh."

Louise bit her lip. "...Can you teach it to me?"

Emiya shook his head. "I cannot."

Louise jumped out of her bed, face red with anger, but then winced and sat back down.

_Looks like the adrenaline's wearing off._

She glared at him. "Why not?!"

Emiya sighed. "You're not suited for it." He frowned. "Well, that might not be true. You weren't actually using my magic, but... faking it?" His frown deepened. There was something there... no. He could think about it later. "Either way, there's a consequence for doing it. You already know, don't you?"

He gave Louise a long look.

His Master had the grace to look away. "I... I don't know what you're talking about!"

Emiya sighed again. Why was she being so stubborn?

...Huh. Maybe this was what Rin felt before she finally persuaded him against using His Magic to solve everything. No wonder her hair turned gray so early.

He shook his head, clearing the disjointed memories away.

"Master. That magic is beyond your reach. Trying to copy it will only harm you."

Seeing that she wasn't convinced, Emiya got out of his seat and walked towards her.

"What are you- OUCH!"

He grabbed Louise's arm and turned it over, examining it. "Nerve damage, internal lacerations, worn bones... better than I expected, but still bad." He looked up at her. "What a troublesome Master you are, Louise."

She flushed. "I don't need your- huh?" She blinked. "The pain... it's gone."

Emiya stepped back, releasing her arm. "Of course it is. You used my magic. Did you expect me to not know how to treat its side-effects?"

...It had been Archer who showed him that trick. Being in a human body had made the former Counter Guardian forget his limits, and he had been dealt the same symptoms after a certain battle. He taught Emiya how to fix the damage just in case he ever needed to heal himself of the same issues.

It had never happened, but it was useful knowledge nonetheless.

"...You didn't have to. I would have been fine!"

Emiya raised an eyebrow. "Whatever you say, Louise."

"A-anyway, why won't you teach me? I can do it, and you can heal me if I mess up, right?"

A hint of pleading. It was faint, but he could sense the need in Louise's voice. That she didn't want to lose it. That she had found something she could do, and didn't want it taken away.

"...Why?"

This time it was Emiya asking the question. "You have your own magic, Louise. Even if you have not mastered it yet, I'm sure-"

"NO!" Louise was trembling. "I... I need to know this, Emiya! If I can use it... if I can use that sword again, then maybe..."

_That sword...? Ah, so that's how she had used the wind spell._

It seemed that Louise had managed to recreate her mother's own rapier. But Emiya wouldn't have been able to use Karin's spell if he had done the same, since it wasn't a 'skill' but a 'spell' stored within. He was just too aligned with blades to be able to use it like that.

Emiya sighed. "...Fine."

"I'll listen to you! I promise I won't do anything- wait, did you say yes?"

Emiya smiled. "I promised to protect you, didn't I? If my abilities can help with that, I have no objections. But first..."

* * *

"...Why do I need a sword?"

"I told you, if you want to learn how to use my magic, you need to know how to use a sword."

It was the 'Day of the Void'. Or in other words, the day after the academy was attacked by Fouquet and the unknown Servant/Magus.

There weren't any classes that day, not that there would be after what had happened, due to it being a 'Holy' day of rest. Or something like that.

Emiya had just equated it with Sunday and left it at that.

In any case, he had explained to Louise that if she wanted to learn how to use Projection magic (or whatever offshoot she had managed to perform in the midst of combat) properly, they would first need to buy a sword.

While he could have given her one of the many he possessed to start off with, her world had already been turned upside down with the recent events. He didn't want her to accidently learn that he was from a different dimension (likely) entirely from a sword that he gave her to use. That piece of information would be better given from him personally, and at a time when it wasn't so chaotic.

"But can't I just make one? Or can't you make one? We didn't need to come out all this way to the capital!"

Emiya ignored her, and kept a careful eye on their surroundings.

They were walking down a gloomy alley, one that could be the archetype of 'shady'.

"...Are you sure that this is the right place, Louise? Karin did insist on it, but..."

Karin. Not surprisingly, she had agreed to Emiya's intentions to train Louise. After the recent events, and her suspicions that the whole attack was initially intended to target Louise and either discredit her or the Valliere family, she was a supporter of Louise learning to defend herself.

There was also the fact that a Valliere learning how to use the blade was an 'honorable path'.

...He wondered if Karin really believed that lie, but considering it had been a few decades since she followed it...

"We're here."

Louise stopped in front of a shop. From the sword shaped wooden sign hanging outside of it, this was where they were headed.

It was dirty. It was dingy. It was a place that didn't look like it held high-quality blades, but Emiya decided to hold his opinion on that matter. He wasn't the one who have lived in this world all their lives.

Louise walked past him and pushed open the door, causing a bell to ring as she entered.

_Looks like she's decided to take charge._

Emiya shrugged and followed her, making sure to stay close in case there was trouble, as he was sure there would be. While he had decent luck, he still didn't trust it to not have something disastrous occur, even if it was just on a simple shopping trip.

Inside, Emiya swept his eyes across the shop, taking in the rusted weapons and filthy accommodations. Granted, it was nothing a little polish wouldn't fix for most of them, but to see blades, even mundane, kept in such a manner irked him.

For a moment, he thought he heard a surprised gasp and the clattering of steel, but he didn't get the chance to finish his observations, as the shop keeper emerged from the back room to man the desk.

"Welcome to our shop-"

The round man with a balding head of hair, who Emiya immediately took a disliking to, stopped when he saw who he was greeting.

"O-oh, Nobles. Nothing suspicious here, just a man trying to run an honest business..."

Definitely not someone Emiya would choose to buy from, but considering that both Louise and Karin insisted on this place... well, he'd hold his judgment for a while yet.

Louise huffed. "We're not inspectors. We're here as customers."

"O-of course..."

The shop keeper sent Emiya a wary glance.

Seeing that, Louise gave Emiya a subtle jab in the ribs.

He sighed and tried to adopt a more relaxed posture, while scanning the rest of the shop. Rusty blades, dusty shelves. It looked like this man didn't get many customers. His wares didn't seem too shabby though, unlike his first impression. In fact, they were all decent quality. Much better than any of the shoddy 'modern' blades that had been sold back in his world near the turn of the century.

"So what kind of weapon were you looking for, young miss?"

"I was thinking a sword... one for myself and my famili-, er my Servant."

"I see..."

The moment that Louise said that, an unsettling gleam settled in the man's eyes. "And what kind of sword exactly? I have many kinds to choose from for a dignified individual as yourself. None of those rusty swords on display, but the more... exotic blades, so to speak."

Standard procedure. The shop keeper was following the AIDA principle. Attention, Interest, Desire, then Attraction.

Louise didn't seem to realize it, and was swept along with the shop keeper's actions. "Oh? Well, why don't you show me your best swords then?"

Emiya sighed. _Well... Karin did say to teach her. Let's see how she takes this experience._

He would step in before she made a mistake that she would regret, but until then it he would just let it play out.

The shop keeper disappeared into the back and rustled about for a moment before emerging with a gleaming sword with a gem-encrusted hilt.

"This here." He hefted the blade onto the counter, purposefully tilting it so that it would catch the light. "Is the best sword I have in the shop. Crafted by one of the best alchemists in Germania and enchanted to cut through iron like butter. What say you, young lady?"

Emiya didn't need to look at Louise to know what her reaction would be. As someone who held such low self-esteem, possessing such a blade would no doubt inflate her ego.

Unfortunately, Emiya had to cut that decision short.

"Don't buy it, Louise. It's not a sword."

Louise stopped just short of dumping her pouch of gold on the counter.

The shop keeper froze, turning back to Emiya with the same eyes as prey had when seeing a predator in sight.

"What do you mean it's not a sword!? I mean, look at it!" Louise waved at the sword. "Can't you just sense the magic rolling off it? The sharp keen edge? I know that you prefer less... ornamented blades, Emiya, but don't you think that I should-"

Emiya interrupted her by grabbing the sword. He glanced at the shopkeeper and said, "May I?"

The intimidated man could only nod.

As expected, an in-depth scan of the blade revealed its lack of practical use. It was indeed crafted of fine materials, as the gold and gems were of the highest grade. It also possessed a vast amount of mana, with dozens of spells layering it to maintain the pristine appearance.

There was also indeed a spell to give it the ability to cut through iron, but only iron, nothing else. Considering that most blades were steel, or contained at least some trace amount of impurity, the sword was next to useless.

Unfortunately, while artful, it wasn't built to last, or be used in combat.

Emiya shook his head. "It is a work of art, no more, no less. Whoever made this was skilled, but they had no understanding of swords. The balance is inaccurate, the edge will not last, and it will shatter upon the first hit."

He set it down. "It may possess some use as a focus, but with the work required to utilize it in that way, it would be better to decompose it and start over from its base components."

He sighed and gave the sword a wistful look. "A shame that its maker could not bring forth the concept of creation's full potential."

The concept of creation was solid, but the basic structure had been flawed. If it had been wrought with the intention of being a sword in mind rather than with the enchantments and materials... a pity.

Louise was speechless, while the shop keeper had a calculating look on his face.

"I'm surprised. Proper Nobles don't know that much about blades."

Emiya gave the man a wry smile. "Who said I was a proper Noble?"

Before the shopkeeper could react, a voice called out through the shop.

"Oi. You, standing next to pinky."

The shopkeeper froze when he heard the voice, and then sighed, a long drawn out breath.

"Derflinger... what did I say to you about interrupting-"

"Shut up baldy. I'm not talking to you."

Louise blinked and pointed towards one of the barrels filled with oil. "Emiya... is that sword talking?"

He followed her gaze, though inwardly he discounted that assumption she made. It was more likely an assistant hidden in the back, or some person they didn't see on the way in.

Granted, the fact of someone evading his gaze was unlikely, but the thought of a talking sword was-

Emiya's thoughts ground to a halt.

_Impossible._

It was a sword... no. Not a sword. A SWORD, just like him.

"...You gonna stand there all day, or you gonna pick me up, Sword?"

Louise blinked in confusion. "And now the sword's talking about itself in third person? I don't-"

Emiya ignored his Master and walked towards the talking SWORD.

Its form was a standard long sword. Rusty and single edged. But that didn't matter. He could already tell that the form was immaterial to the SWORD's existence.

He picked it up.

"Heh." The rusty sword shuddered, its quillon acting as a mouth. "So I was right. You're not the user, but I'd bet you'd be a good match for him, wouldn't you, Sword?"

An existence even older than him. A thousand, no six thousand years old. Something that had seen civilizations rise and fall, seen Humanity grow in number and weaken in strength, seen the advent of magic and the Age of Gods.

"Emiya!"

He blinked.

Louise was angry, though she looked worried as well. "What are you doing?"

He ignored Louise and turned back to the shopkeeper. "This sword will do fine."

* * *

They were back at the academy after a long journey back. It was still buzzing with activity, but the Master and Servant duo headed straight to Louise's room.

Louise had been seething the entire journey back. She hadn't taken kindly to buying a rusty sword after such a long journey. Especially after Emiya insisted she get a sword that suited her the entire way there.

"E-mi-ya."

Emiya blinked, getting sudden flashbacks to Rin doing the same whenever he had done something she thought was stupid.

"...Yes?"

Was Louise somehow channeling Rin? That smile, that slight tilt of her head... it couldn't be, right? Or was that just a characteristic shared by spitfire female magic users?

"Would you kindly explain why you refused to let me buy an exquisite golden sword and yet forced me to buy a rusty, worthless, scrap of BRIMIR FORSAKEN IRON INSTEAD?"

Ah. Good. She wasn't channeling Rin. Just a coincidence.

"It's not worthless, Louise. In fact, this is the best sword you could hope to have at your side. I doubt I could make a sword to match it."

Louise scowled. "It's scrap iron! Even that shopkeeper thought so!"

"Hey! That baldy couldn't tell a true sword from a-"

"It's alright, Derf. They can't understand you like I can."

Derflinger, or Derf as he wanted Emiya to call him. That was the name of the SWORD he had found.

Emiya turned back towards his Master. "And Louise. While somewhat knowledgeable in swords, that shopkeeper could not know how exceptional a blade Derflinger is. There are few who could."

Louise crossed her arms and flopped onto her bed. "Hmph."

It was quiet for a bit, as Louise was pouting and Emiya was busy cleaning Derflinger.

"...I'm surprised though, Sword. I didn't think there was anyone else like me out there."

"Neither did I."

"You're a bit different though, aren't you? And I don't mean just in the fleshy body way."

Emiya was silent.

Louise sat up and said, "You. Derfinger or whatever your name is."

"It's Derflinger, girly, and don't you forget it!"

Louise waved off the sword's words. "Whatever. You keep calling Emiya 'Sword'. What are you talking about?"

"...You haven't told her?"

Emiya shrugged. "Does it matter?"

Louise narrowed her eyes. "Tell me what?"

"I'm surprised you can't see it, girly. Though it looks like you haven't gotten a hold of it yet either..."

Louise growled. "Stop talking in riddles!"

If Derflinger could shrug, Emiya was sure he would have done it right then. "This guy's made of good steel. Even better than me."

The sword paused for a moment and continued.

"...It's weird. He's not the user, and the Heart isn't supposed to be found here. Either blondie messed up or someone's changed things."

Emiya was quiet and watched the interaction between the two. Derflinger would be the one protecting Louise, so it was best if they got used to each other. So far, it seemed to be working... somewhat.

"Blondie? Heart? User? For Brimir's sake, talk in common you piece of-"

The door burst open, interrupting whatever Louise was going to say.

"Miss Louise!"

It was Siesta. Her wounds had appeared serious, but if she was up and running about like that, they must have been healed.

Emiya placed Derf back in his sheath and turned towards the maid. "Miss Siesta. Have you healed already?"

"Oh, Sir Emiya." She flushed a bit and nodded. "Yes, I'm healed now. They said it was fortunate that Miss Tabitha could heal me so soon. There might be a little bit of scarring, but at least I'm alive..."

Louise cleared her throat. She paused for a bit when Siesta turned her way, her expression dimming a bit, but then said, "I am glad to see you are doing well. But would you care to explain why you burst into my room?"

"Oh!" Siesta clasped her hands together. "The princess is coming, and she has an important announcement! Your mother sent me here to help you get ready, since the princess will be here within the hour."

There was a brief moment of silence where Louise took the time to process Siesta's words.

"WHAT?!"

* * *

It was a massive crowd. The students and staff had gathered in the castle courtyard to greet the princess.

Emiya was standing at Louise's side, Derflinger currently sheathed at his waist. He had wanted to Louise to hold Derflinger, but she vehemently declined. Something about swords not going with her dress.

_Women... I will never understand their fashion sense._

Louise had dressed in her finest clothes, a fancy dress of sorts that took Siesta's help and a frantic few minutes to get on.

Emiya had gone with his usual attire, a white overcoat, matching pants, and silver armor. Granted, he'd repaired the damage it had taken over the course of his duel with Karin, as well as the encounter with the golem. Now they were pristine and practically shone in the sunlight.

Karin was standing nearby, dressed in full armor, her broken helmet repaired and obscuring her face. While the secret identity of the Heavy Wind was now revealed, she probably intended to keep up appearances.

And then the princess arrived.

Regal, beautiful, and kind eyes. Emiya wasn't surprised when a majority of the student body started talking when she cast her gaze across them all. He was sure that more than a few of the boys swore to become knights of the realm (if they had those in this world) then and there.

No, her presence, as well as the many guards surrounding her didn't surprise her. What did was her words.

Looking upon the student body, with a solemn gaze that suddenly seemed all too weary for one that young, she spoke.

"Albion... has fallen."

* * *

A/N2: Tiger Dojo still being written. In the meantime, here's some info on some of the swords seen so far, as well as guest replies.

* * *

Rank up!

**The Tiger's Wrath**

Anti-unit: E

A blade created with the Tora-Shinai's curse as a base and a large broadsword as the form. While an exceptional blade in comparison to mundane weapons, against any other Noble Phantasm, it would break.

Emiya mainly uses this blade for intimidation purposes on civilians. It has no effect on those used to combat and killing intent.

**Annealed Sword**

Anti-unit: E

A blade from a certain iron fortress in the skies of another world. In comparison to ordinary weapons, it is of exceptional make. Steel, silver, and other alloys were used to create this weapon, giving it strength greater than any mundane weapon. Still, it is nothing in comparison to most enchanted weaponry.

**Fragarach, the Answerer**

Anti-unit: C

A blade forged by Emiya from a Fragarach he obtained through various means, as well as the memories of the blade shown to him by Cu Chullain. Unlike the Noble Phantasm passed down through the Fraga line, this Fragarach closely follows the myth, granting the wielder control over the wind, as well as forcing those who have the blade at their necks to answer all questions the wielder has, being unable to move the entire time.

Grants the personal skill 'Protection from Wind' Rank A. Also grants a temporary alignment of 'Wind' when wielded.

**The Sword of Truth, Blade of the Seeker**

Anti-unit: C+

A blade meant to be wielded by the 'Seeker of Truth', one who travels the world to seek the answers to things. One half of the 'weapons' created by a certain Wizard in an effort to preserve the truth in his world.

As a sword, it is of the finest make, still pristine after thousands of years of use. However, its true ability lies in the numerous enchantments upon this blade. However, years kept in a world not its own have degraded most of these abilities, leaving behind only one.

The sword's power comes from its wielder's righteous anger, and glows red when the anger turns to rage. Its true strength can only be realized when its wielder wields it with a heart full of love and forgiveness.

When used in anger to kill, the sword enforces a concept of 'retribution', causing the wielder to realize and suffer the agony of realizing that they destroyed life. In prolonged usage, this 'retribution' wears down on the wielder, and leaves them a shadow of their former selves. However, this applies only to those with an origin of 'humanity', or those that were once human.

Regardless, when one uses this blade, they receive a rank up in all paramaters, as well as the personal skill 'Mental Pollution', which begins at E and increases depending on the prolonged usage of the blade.

The 'Seeker of Truth' is exempt from this mental pollution.

Note that Emiya Shirou remains unaffected as he is an incarnation of 'Sword', with a semblance of humanity as a secondary trait. He is able to steel himself and ignore any agony that may occur from the enforced retribution (mainly due to being inherently distorted).

* * *

**Guest Review Replies from September 25th onward**

Guest: Ah, I remember that one! Thanks for reminding me of it. I lost track of it after the bookmarks feature on FFN was removed.

Guest: He'd actually have it degraded by two ranks. It makes normal projection magic mostly useless for him, but it does help in a pinch. And yes, he could use the D.I. forging without his reality marble, but he'd need a physical item to use in the process, and it has to be at least a mystic code/conceptual weapon to be worth using in the process, otherwise it's just a waste since there won't be many, if any, new abilities gained in the process. And for the last part, you are correct. Now have fun guessing who those are.

Guest: Out of hand like 'A Different Path'... er maybe?

Guest: Ah, we'll see how Kirei evens things out in the future. I will say that I was inspired in part by Fate/kaleid liner Prisma Illya, however.

Guest: Glad you liked the duel! You are also right in your guesses aas to which country has which familiar.

Guest: He can use tracing, projection, and reinforcement, but Tracing and Projection are lowered an additional rank, as well as take a bit more time than Canon!Shirou's tracing to get similar quality. But if it's just quantity, he can surpass that, as shown in this recent chapter. Reinforcement can be used to a much greater level than Canon!Shirou as well, but there's yet to be an enemy where Emiya needs to use it.

Guest: You were right. Definitely was in the zone.

Guest: It's more of a 'style' of fighting, and takes a different form depending on the medium used. Since the memory of it was included in Berserker's stone axe-sword, it was recorded in Shirou's reality marble.

Guest: It could probably kill him a few times over, but not all twelve in one swoop. The only thing that could do that, I think, would be Excalibur or Ea. Or UBW if Archer decided to go all out with Broken Phantasms.

Guest: It is actually weaker in reproducing blades compared to UBW, but stronger in gaining the memories. The difference here is a switch in focus from Ranged to Melee. While he couldn't reproduce something like Caliburn, he could reproduce an inferior copy but match Saber in fighting prowess. That and the things you mentioned are the main for Kirito's other swords, we'll likely see those at some point.

Guest: Yes, c'est la vie.

grimofdeath: Glad you're enjoying the story! And maybe? Still thinking about that.

Guest: Why yes. Yes he did.

Guest: Indeed. The memory problems are not completely the familiar runes messing with his mind, though they do have a big role in that.

Guest: Ahaha, yeah...

FlareCrown: Thanks!

LL: Indeed, Trollmine plays a large part in this.

Guest: Alright, thanks for the reinforcement. Your words definitely help lower the stress levels.

Guest: Why yes. Yes he does, as you will/have seen in the latest chapter.

David: I'm glad you think so! I hope to not disappoint in future installments.

Guest: Ooh, that'll be interesting to write... though it'll also take some thought. Hm.

Guest: Yes. That and recalling what information he has on it in his head.

Guest: Hm. That's a pretty good guess...

Guest: Indeed. Story dragged me kicking and screaming to write.

Guest: Yep, I did make it massive. Hope it was a good read.

Guest: I added a rough version of that above for all the swords shown so far, and I'll try to remember doing that in the future.

Guest: Yeah, Noble Phantasms are... weird. Mainly the difference between myth and truth and other factors blurring the lines when it gets crystallized. At least that's my interpretation of it.

Guest: It definitely was.

Guest: The shadow assassin being Kirito? Er... I have nothing to say on that matter.

Guest: You pretty much hit it on the mark. My interpretation of the void is that it differs slightly from user to user, and that each is 'lacking' something. For Louise, it's 'self-worth' or 'confidence' and so she can pretend flaws don't exist. A further explanation of this will likely appear in the next chapter or whenever I get around to having Emiya train Louise.

Guest: Er... not sure how to respond to that. I definitely agree that canon!Louise is a pain, but much of that was exacerbated by Saito's immaturity and outright stupidity. I've taken my own interpretation of her character in this story and extrapolated from that. Mainly because I'd hate to write Canon!Louise since I also do not like her.

Guest: It's not really Unlimited Blade Works or Emiya's reality marble, but it does seem like that at the moment. I'll try to explain it fully in the future in a manner that hopefully makes sense.

Guest: Yep, he definitely can. But he only has '1' of something unless he makes more, and that process in itself can take time, so he usually leaves it in a form that would be useful for a majority of situations.


	10. To War: Attempted Chivalry

**_To War: Attempted Chivalry_**

It was night. The princess had finished her speech hours ago and left the academy in a solemn silence.

Albion had fallen. It was the closest neighbor to Tristain, as well as its closest allies. The ties between the two royal families had always been strong, and though it had been beset by rebels, there had been hope that it would last at least a few months longer.

It had not.

News had come that Reconquista had successfully breached the royal palace using powerful magical artifacts that allowed a single man to take out an entire company of soldiers.

A group of no more than ten had proved enough to eliminate all that remained of the Royalists. Down to the last man, the Albion royal family was no more, and the old king's body had been strewn on the streets as a symbol of corruption in the old system.

The body of the prince, Wales, had not been found, but from the bloody scene that was left in the halls of the once hallowed palace, it was a foregone conclusion that the heir was also dead. His wasn't the only body missing, after all. The sheer power of whatever artifacts that had been used left more than a dozen bodies as nothing more than a stain on the wall.

That was the report given to him by Karin when he had asked to learn more of the situation to prepare for the inevitable war that would break out.

Somehow, someway, the rebels had managed to obtain an equalizer. A power that could potentially rival even the Heavy Wind, which was what allowed them to attack with impunity.

But that wasn't what troubled Emiya. No, it was the fact that the battle had taken a such a sudden turn.

Karin had told him that Reconquista and the Royalists had been at a standstill until just the day before. From all signs, it had appeared that Tristain had another month to prepare. Karin herself had been slated to be deployed should the tides shift any further, the vanguard before the Tristainian forces would be sent out in an official war.

Now they had less than a week.

It was obvious. A rebel force obtaining a weapon of mass destruction and successfully conquering a nation. An alliance that could have saved Tristain being called off just a week prior. The fall of their only true ally in Halkeginia.

Tristain was on their own, and there was no doubt that both Germania and Gallia would remain neutral, if not invade outright so that they could seize a piece of the country for their own.

This was the truth of the situation that now waited them.

Emiya closed his eyes. _Troublesome..._

Louise had retired to her bedroom the moment that the princess finished talking. Completely silent, she had immediately lain on her bed, and had been unmoving ever since.

Emiya had let her be. Though he couldn't feel it himself, he was sure that his Master was feeling overwhelmed, and likely in despair.

He should have comforted her. Said something about how everything would be alright, how it was possible that the rebels wouldn't attack Tristain. That her life would remain the same as it had always been.

It would be a lie.

Though Emiya wanted to protect her, he would not lie to her. The illusion of safety could protect one's innocence, but their life would be forfeited the moment that illusion was destroyed. An illogical structure that would fall the moment danger first arrived.

No. It was better to let her despair for now. To let her realize the odds against her.

Because, even if his Master was fragile, there was steel in her. And to forge that steel...

"Emiya."

The first words from Louise in hours. Her voice was dry, and cracked like she was going to burst into tears. Even so, even as wavering as it was, he could feel the strength in them.

"Teach me."

He smiled. "I already promised, didn't I?"

Yes... his Master was fragile. Her heart was like glass, but there was steel in her. Now it would be up to him to forge that steel, to create a sword that could weather the harsh winds of war, to survive countless battles.

"We'll begin at the break of-"

Knocking at the door. Two long, and three short.

Emiya grew silent, and moved to the immediate right of the door. It opened outwards, so he could still be seen if the one knocking stepped inside, but he was fast enough to subdue them in either case.

Louise had started to get out of her bed, but she noticed what he was doing and also grew silent. Instead of getting up to open the door, she moved behind her bed and grabbed her wand. It was a position that would let her take cover if the visitor was hostile.

_She's learned caution. I suppose that's one benefit of these trying times..._

Emiya gave her a small nod to acknowledge her actions, and then the two waited. After all, even if it was someone benign, like Karin (though Emiya wouldn't really call her a benign presence in Louise's life...) there was still the high chance that it could be someone malevolent.

Knocking to announce their presence was suspicious, but then they could just be waiting for Louise to open the door so that they could attack her. No, he knew better than to let Louise do that, and it seemed that she understood that caution as well, willing to wait for the visitor to emerge before acting.

A tense few seconds, then the door slowly opened.

A cloaked figure, with a hood up to disguise their features.

Louise tensed, and for a moment Emiya thought he would have to subdue the visitor. But then he saw the face beneath the cloak and relaxed.

"Princess Henrietta," Emiya said. "What brings you here so late at night?"

Despite her subterfuge, because it wasn't magical in nature, Emiya could clearly see the identity of their late night visitor.

She jumped in surprise, and made shushing gestures with her hands before stepping in the room and closing it behind her. After that, she pulled out a staff and cast a short spell, filling the room with glowing powder.

Emiya narrowed his eyes. _Silencing magic...? _

After she was satisfied that there weren't any ways to eavesdrop, she dropped her hood and smiled at Louise. "It appears that you've obtained a competent guard, Valliere." That smile dropped a bit when she saw how tense Louise was, and that she had grabbed her wand. "...Though I can understand why."

Louise blinked, looking between her wand and the revealed princess, and then dropped to her knees. Of course, since she was standing behind her bed, that led to a collision with its mattress, sending Louise sprawling against the wall behind her.

Emiya sighed.

* * *

Louise's embarrassing reaction to the princess broke the tension, and the three of them were now seated at Louise's table.

It seemed that Louise and the princess were old friends, as they spent the time reminiscing on childhood events. They also seemed close, as the princess made a sincere apology to Louise for the terrible events happening to her recently, and even gave her a hug.

All in all, the two were acting like an ordinary pair of teenaged girls should, something that Emiya thought was good for them with the recent events.

...Of course, it was apparent that the princess had come for more than just catching up on old times.

After the two had talked for a while and settled down a bit from their excitement and joy of talking to each other, Emiya turned to the princess and said, "While it is good for old friends to reconnect, I would like to know the true purpose of your visit, Princess. I don't believe you are here for just a simple chat, are you?"

"Emiya! You shouldn't talk that way to the princess!"

Louise scolded him, but he ignored it. That seemed more of a reflexive action than actual condemnation, so it wasn't worth considering. Instead, he focused his attention on the princess, who let out a sigh and lowered her eyes.

"No, Louise. Your... servant?"

She gave Emiya a questioning look, and he nodded in response.

"Yes, your servant has made a valid point. And I cannot blame him for his caution after what has happened to you in the past few weeks. Truly, I cannot apologize enough for that incident."

Louise was quick to object. "It's not your fault, Princess!"

Henrietta smiled, though it didn't reach her eyes. "You are too kind, Louise. But it is as I said, your servant has a right to be cautious."

There was a moment of silence where it seemed as if the princess was gathering her thoughts, and then she said, "...I would like for you to go to Albion, Louise."

Another moment of silence, though this one was born of stunned surprise.

Emiya was the first to regain his composure. "...You want Louise to go to Albion? The country where the rebels have successfully overthrown the royal family? Where it is all too likely that any supporter of the Royalists will be immediately put to death, if not worse?"

Henrietta cringed at that, but gave a firm nod. "Yes, but it is a matter of utmost importance."

"Enough that you are willing to risk the life of the very friend you spent the past hour reminiscing with?" Emiya paused, a thought coming to him. "...Or was that just to manipulate her emotions so that she would be more accepting to a suicide mission, _Princess_?"

He spoke the last word like a curse. It seemed that the rebels were justified if the royal family was willing to go to these depths to achieve their desires. Perhaps he should... expedite their cause, if that was the fate awaiting his Master-

"No!" Henrietta flinched, as if visibly struck. "I would never do such a thing!"

"Then why don't you send someone else? Louise is both untrained and uninitiated. Karin would be a better choice for whatever mission you have in mind-"

"Emiya." Louise sent him a stern glare. "Let the princess speak."

He shook his head. "No, Louise. I can't allow this. It's one thing for you to fight monsters as you have, but another thing entirely to tread in a war torn country. Even with your abilities."

Louise crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "It is my life, Emiya!"

Emiya didn't back down, meeting her gaze without flinching. "And it is my duty to protect you! I will not allow you to place yourself in danger like this while you are not ready!"

"I am more than ready-"

"You. Are. Not!"

A small fit of laughter brought the two of them back to the situation at hand.

Louise blushed, realizing her actions in front of the princess, and made quick apologies.

Emiya merely leaned back in his chair. Mission by her sovereign lord or not, Emiya wouldn't stand by and let Louise run off to get herself killed. He would follow her to the ends of the world itself and give her the tools to shape her own fate, but at the moment she was far from capable of that.

"Truly, you two are a good match," Henrietta said. "But Sir... Emiya, is it?"

At his nod, she continued. "Sir Emiya, while it assures me that my dear Louise has such an ardent protector, you need not worry. The task I have for her is not so dangerous as you imagine."

Emiya scoffed, drawing another glare from Louise. "Then what is this so called mission of 'utmost importance' that is also 'not so dangerous'?"

The princess pulled out a letter from her pockets and set it on the table. There was a wax crest on it, but it meant nothing to Emiya.

It seemed that it did mean something to Louise, however.

"That's the Albion Royal Crest!"

Emiya frowned. "And what does a letter from the Albion Royal Family have to do with this mission?"

Henrietta smiled. "I received this letter a day after the news that Albion has fallen, Sir Emiya."

Louise gestured towards the letter. "Princess, may I?"

"Of course."

Emiya got up and examined the letter from over Louise's shoulder. It was brief, but essentially stated that Prince Wales was alive and that he was doing well. It also stated that he hoped to meet the princess again sometime soon.

When he finished reading, Emiya sat back in his chair and let out a sigh. "...You want for us to retrieve the prince, don't you?"

Henrietta shook her head. "Not alone. One of my personal guards will go with you to Albion. Between you and he, my dear Louise shall be well protected, will she not?"

Emiya pinched the bridge of his nose, staving off a coming headache. It was nostalgic, almost, considering that the last time he had one was when Rin turned into a magical girl and attacked the Lords of the Clock Tower 'for love and justice'. But he still didn't relish the thought.

"You can count on me, Princess! I won't let you down!"

And there was Louise, all too eager to fulfill Henrietta's wish. He could already tell that there would be no changing his Master's mind now. It would require a miracle on par with defeating ORT itself to stop a teenaged girl once their motivation became 'love and justice'.

...He should know, considering he had to do just that after Rin had finished with the Clock Tower.

Even so, he wouldn't give up without some resistance. And he still didn't know why it was necessary.

"Before my Master volunteers herself for anymore reckless and suicidal actions-"

"Emiya!"

"-at least explain why you cannot send someone like Karin instead and chose Louise. Or why you couldn't just send your guard himself?"

Henrietta had been smiling fondly at Louise's enthusiasm, but that dimmed when Emiya spoke. "...The Cardinal."

"The Cardinal?" Emiya frowned, considering that response for a moment, and then sighed. "Of course. The Cardinal is the one with the 'Scepter', isn't he?"

"Eh?" Louise looked between Emiya and Henrietta, confused. "What are you two talking about?"

"It means that the princess is nothing more than a figurehead while the Cardinal is the one with the power," Emiya said.

Henrietta nodded. "It is as Sir Emiya says." She turned back to Emiya and said, "The reason why I cannot send Karin or my guard alone is because he would know that I am planning something." She sighed. "He believes that Tristain is doomed, and intends to surrender the moment Reconquista arrives. I cannot... I will not allow that. But to do that, we require a rallying point."

"...And the sudden appearance of the prince that was thought to be dead would allow that?"

Emiya didn't see how it would help. It might give the nobles and supporters of the royal family some motivation, as well as opposition to Tristain surrendering, but it wasn't something that would help a lot. War would come to Tristain regardless. _Though I suppose having another member of the Royal Family present while the rebels invade would give the princess more authority. _

Emiya sighed. This wouldn't end well, regardless of his decision. There was still that mysterious magus to consider, and the unknown artifacts that allowed the rebels to suddenly shift the scales.

Henrietta nodded. "The Cardinal would not be able to deny the voice of two members of the Royal Family."

"Emiya." Louise looked at him. Like he thought, she wouldn't budge a bit on this issue.

"...I guarantee, this will not end well," Emiya muttered.

Henrietta smiled. "But at the least you will be there to protect Louise, will you not, Sir Emiya? Someone capable of matching the Heavy Wind in a duel, as well as a member of my personal guard should ensure that all goes well."

"...Fine. I'll agree to this foolhardy plan." He glanced towards Louise and said, "It looks like my Master will be going no matter what I say, so I might as well follow to ensure her safety."

"My guard will meet you at the stables when dawn breaks," Henrietta said. "He will know where to go to find Prince Wales." She turned towards Louise and pressed a ring in her hands. "When you find him, show him this ring and remind him of the oath made upon Ragdorian."

Louise's eyes widened with the princess's last words. "You... and the prince...?"

Henrietta just gave Louise a small smile in response, and then she got out of her seat. "Thank you, my dear Louise, for accepting this favor of mine." She gave her a deep bow. "I will eternally be in your debt should you succeed."

Louise scrambled, flustered at the princess's gesture, and frantically motioned for her to get up. "I-it's not trouble, none at all, Princess! Please, there's no need to go to such lengths!"

Henrietta straightened and smiled, then turned to Emiya. "I entrust you with her safety, Sir Emiya. I beg of you, do not let her come to harm." She paused, her smile dimming. "I... I know this is dangerous, and I know it might seem selfish, but..."

"You have nothing to worry about, Princess. So long as I am by her side, even should the world itself turn on her, I will ensure her safety."

Henrietta nodded, and then turned towards Louise. "You have a very loyal and noble servant, Louise... or perhaps he is-"

Louise flushed. "Princess! Th-that's... Emiya and I... such a thing...!"

The princess laughed and shook her head. "I jest, my dear Louise, I jest. After all, you already have Viscount Wardes, do you not?"

_Viscount Wardes...?_ Emiya frowned, but before he could think more on it, the princess headed towards the door.

"Well then, I bid you two a good night. May the Founder protect you from the harsh winds blowing in Albion."

With those final words, the princess left, leaving just Louise and Emiya alone in the room.

Silence, and then Emiya said, "You should rest, Louise. I will wake you when it is time."

Louise glanced at Emiya and blushed, but then said, "...Okay." After that, she headed back to her bed and laid down, cuddling with some of the animals Emiya had made for her.

Eventually, her breathing smoothed, and she fell asleep.

"...I don't like this, Sword."

A rusty voice, coming from beside Emiya.

"I don't either, Derf. Like I said, this can't end well."

Derf shuddered against the wall next to Emiya, his equivalent of a sigh. "Looks like pinky's going to get that training sooner than you thought, isn't she?"

"...It appears so."

It was silent again. Looking outside the window, Emiya could clearly see the twin moons in the skies above.

"...Hey, Sword," Derf said. "Did you mean what you said about protecting pinky over there from the world itself?"

"Of course. I am her sword, and my body was created to save."

"...You know that the world actually has a will, right?"

Emiya smiled, though it was different from his usual expression. Distorted. "I meant what I said, Derf. The World, Death, Time... even Reality itself. So long as I am by her side, she has nothing to fear."

"...Heh. Let's hope it doesn't come to that then. Blondie would get a heart attack."

* * *

Dawn had just broken. Emiya had already roused Louise, and the pair were at the stables, waiting for the last member of their party.

Louise was dressed in her uniform as always, though she had changed her shoes for the more practical riding boots.

Emiya was in his usual attire, namely his coat, armor, pants, and boots. He had changed the color though. Seeing as they were trying to be stealthy, they had become a dark gray, closer to black then the silver they had been. He also wore Derflinger on his side. He would have preferred having Louise wield the sword, but he still had not gotten the chance to train her yet, and he didn't want her getting any rash ideas about attempting Tracing without him nearby.

He still wasn't sure if that was what she was actually doing, after all.

"...I still say that this is a bad idea, Master."

Louise sighed. "You've already told me that, Emiya. And stop calling me Master!"

"You are my Master, and I am your sword. So long as we are going on this mission, that is our relationship, Master."

Though Emiya had agreed to go along, that didn't mean he had to like it.

"Fine! See if I care!"

Louise crossed her arms with a huff, and turned away from Emiya, looking through her packed belongings.

A brief moment of tense silence later, and someone entered the stable.

"My dear Louise. Are you in here?"

It was a man, with gray hair and a complete beard. A feathered cap, gray cloak over a matching tunic and tan breeches. If it wasn't for the color, Emiya would have mistaken him for a red mage from that one game long ago. What was it called again... Last Delusion? _Ah._ Final Fantasy. That was its name.

"V-Viscount Wardes! You are the princess's guard?"

It looked like that man was the 'Wardes' the princess had teased Louise about. ..._He seems competent, at least._ There was something... off, about the man, but he didn't seem to be malevolent.

Wardes stepped inside the stables. "Indeed, my dear Louise. I will be the one accompanying you to Albion." He took off his cap and gave Louise a brief bow. After that, he turned towards Emiya. "And you must be her familiar."

Emiya raised an eyebrow. While true, even the princess hadn't addressed him as such. "...I suppose you could call me that, though I am acting more in the capacity of a Servant to my Master than a simple familiar."

Wardes gave Emiya a scrutinizing glance, and then a brief nod. "Very well. You seem capable enough to protect my fiancée." His gaze suddenly hardened. "However, I shall not forgive you for causing that incident."

"Viscount Wardes!" Louise said. "Emiya was not the one at fault! There was a magic field placed on the school, and-"

Wardes waved off Louise's words. "Yes, my dear Louise. I know all about that accursed spell placed upon the academy. But even so, his appearance is the reason the incident occurred. That you cannot deny."

Louise bit her lip. "B-but..."

Emiya gave Louise a reassuring smile. "It's alright, Master."

Seeing that she wasn't quite so upset, he turned his attention back to Wardes. "You need not forgive me, Wardes. All that you need to know is that such an incident will not occur again."

Wardes gave a curt nod in response. "As you say. Now then, shall we be off? Daylight burns the longer we remain here." He turned towards Louise and said, "You will ride with me on my griffin, won't you my dear Louise? It has been a while since we last spoke, and there's much I would like to say to you."

Louise looked at Emiya and hesitated. "I-"

"Ah, that is if your familiar doesn't mind, of course. Do you?"

The words were said as an afterthought, and Emiya could hardly miss the dismissive way that Wardes continued to call him a 'familiar' rather than Servant, or his name. A petty gesture, one that Emiya would allow. After all, had one he cared for gone through similar circumstances, he would likely do the same.

"Of course not. You have the destination?"

"I do."

Emiya ignored the clipped response, and said, "Where shall we be heading first then, Wardes?"

The man let out an exaggerated sigh. "To think that such an ignorant individual is my dear Louise's familiar... I suppose it's good that you are at least capable in combat."

Louise frowned. "Viscount Wardes. Emiya is not-"

"We will be heading to the port city La Rochelle. Though it is normally a two day ride, with my dear Louise and I on my faithful griffin and you switching rides along the way, we should make it by nightfall."

Again, the dismissive tone. No, not dismissive but rather... slightly hostile? Either way, Emiya ignored it. "Very well."

He started walking out of the stables.

"Are you not forgetting something, familiar?"

Emiya turned back when he walked outside and gave Wardes a slim smile. "Call your griffin, Wardes. You need not worry about my own transportation."

Wardes gave Emiya a strange look, but nodded and walked outside, a strangely meek Louise following him. There, he gave a shrill whistle, and his griffin appeared a few moments later. He easily climbed his mount, and helped Louise up. With that done, he turned back towards Emiya and raised an eyebrow when he saw that Emiya had yet to take out a horse. "...Are you not coming after all, familiar?"

Emiya kept smiling. "Again, you need not worry about me, Wardes. Focus on your fiancée. Even if you two are promised to each other, I will be... most displeased if she comes to harm in your care."

Wardes scoffed. "Arrogant as well... your familiar is truly a piece of work, my dear Louise."

"Emiya is not-"

Whatever Louise said was lost as the griffin took flight with powerful gusts of wind.

Emiya waited until their figures were nothing more than a dot in the sky and then put a hand on Derf's hilt. "...Tell me, Derf. Have you ever gone faster than the speed of sound?"

"Can't say that I've had the privilege, Sword. I've gotten close in the hands of some of my wielders, but I've never actually done it. Can't say that many other swords have either though."

_His body is made of blades._

An interconnected emerald web, thrumming with power. A pulse of energy from a single thread that was from his Master.

"Well, there's a first time for everything, isn't there?"

"Wait... you aren't-"

The stables were on the outside of the academy, quite a distance away due to their 'stench' as the Nobles would put it. But it was still too close for what he was planning to do.

A thrown sword and quick substitution fixed that issue.

"Whoa. Sword, did you just-"

"Trace, on. Reinforcing composite materials... complete."

He could barely see Louise now, even by reinforcing his eyes. It seemed that Wardes was eager to arrive at their destination, and even speeding up his mount by layering wind spells.

There was nothing but grass all around for miles.

Perfect.

* * *

Louise wrapped her arms tighter around Wardes.

The Viscount had decided on a blistering speed, and doing anything less than that would have been uncomfortable at the least, and dangerous at the most.

Not that Wardes would let her come to harm, but there was still that fear of falling in the back of her mind, especially after that one time at the tower...

Either way, Louise held on tight to the man in front of her. Even so, she couldn't help but sneak a few glances back, looking for Emiya's distant figure.

He had been there a while ago, but now was nowhere to be seen.

"...So he was bluffing after all."

Wardes shook his head. "I cannot understand what you see in that familiar of yours, my dear Louise. Incompetent, if strong. Arrogant. It's no wonder you came to so much harm after you summoned him."

Louise frowned. "Emiya is not that bad, Viscount."

Wardes turned around and smiled. "Up here, with only the heavens to accompany us, my dear Louise, a simple 'Wardes' will suffice."

Louise blushed. Though he was ten years older than her, or perhaps it was because he was ten years older than her, Wardes possessed a certain charm about him that made her heart race. And at times like that when he spoke to her so endearingly, with such a charming tone of voice... it was almost enough to make her mind blank.

"Now, what were you saying, my dear Louise?"

_Ah._ Louise blinked. What was she saying again...? Something to do with... _Emiya._ Right. That's what she was talking about. "Emiya's not as bad as you make him out to be. And he's not my familiar! He's my Servant!"

"Hm... Servant, you say? Did Karin decide to hire him as your guard then?"

Louise frowned. "No... but the spell used was 'Summon Servant' and familiars are supposed to be animals. Since Emiya is not an animal, he would be a Servant then, wouldn't he Vis- Wardes?"

"...You may be correct, my dear Louise. Familiars are supposed to be animals, so it is possible that your summoning spell was literal and called forth one who could become your Servant."

Louise nodded at that. It made perfect sense. Emiya was her 'familiar', but he wasn't really a familiar. After all, mages couldn't be familiars. So that meant he was a Servant, even if he was bound to her like a familiar was.

...Right?

"Very well," Wardes said. "I shall endeavor to use the appropriate term in the future, my dear Louise."

There was a moment of silence, where only the wind accompanied them, and then Wardes said, "So tell me more about your 'Servant', my dear Louise. Is it true that he dueled Lady Karin to a draw?"

"...I thought he won that duel?"

Wardes laughed. "A ridiculous notion, my dear Louise. Truly, you have too much faith in your Servant. Dueling Lady Karin, the infamous Heavy Wind and claiming victory? It is good to have faith in one that will stay by your side, but too much can be dangerous."

He shook his head. "Your Servant appears capable, but not that capable."

Louise frowned. There was something about the way that Wardes was discounting Emiya's abilities that bothered her. Something about the way he dismissed Emiya, the one Louise knew had-

_survived through countless battles, not even once retreating, not even once regretting._

-gone through so much that irritated her.

"You have not seen him fight, Wardes. I would not... I wouldn't discount him so easily."

"Hm... if you say so, my dear Louise. But I do wonder... could the reason for your continued protest be that he has stolen your heart?"

Louise flushed. _Me? And Emiya? No... that couldn't- He wouldn't... Would he?_

"I jest, my dear Louise. I know full well that your heart still lies with me."

"...Of course."

That's right. She loved Wardes. And Wardes was the one she was going to marry, so why couldn't she get Emiya out of her head?

_"You know that I will protect you, Louise?"_

_"Even should the world itself turn on her, I will ensure her safety."_

The one who had sworn to protect her, the one who would be by her side. Wardes was the one who made her heart race, but Emiya-

_He stands there alone, protecting from his world of swords._

-he was the one that Louise never wanted to leave. The one that she couldn't leave.

She was broken out of her thoughts by the sound of an explosion below them.

She felt Wardes tense and heard him say, "An attack? No, that was not a spell, nor was it a cannon, despite the sound..."

Louise turned back to look to the ground, only to see a silver blur racing along the grass beneath them.

Seeing that, she couldn't help but smile. "It's Emiya."

"Your Servant?"

Wardes turned around to follow Louise's gaze. "So I see. Perhaps your faith and the rumors are not unfounded after all."

He turned back to the front and gripped the reins tight. "Prepare yourself, my dear Louise. This might be rough."

"What do you meeeeaaaannn!"

Their speed doubled, and Louise had her breath taken away at the sudden change in pace. All the while, the only thought in her mind was...

_Stupid men and their stupid competitions!_

* * *

A/N: And here's the next chapter! I'd intended it to be longer, as it said on my profile, but this was what remained after editing, and also where a logical break appeared, so I split it like so.

Review replies... er. It looks like I'm getting really bad at doing these... PM me if you have a burning question? I do read all of the reviews, but time's been getting shorter and shorter. Guest reviews are easy to do since they're all there, but signed reviews are actually harder since I forget who I have and haven't responded to... Sorry about that.

Tiger Dojo might or might not appear in the next few days. The Fifth might have gotten annoyed at the two and booted them into imaginary time. XD

So Reconquista got a hold of mysterious magical artifacts... I wonder what those are?

Wales is alive! But the rest of the royal family is dead. Where is he, then?

Wardes is being oddly possessive of Louise... and her reaction to him is a bit strange too.

We see the other side-effect of a Rank A Familiar Bond begin to develop as well. It's not just one way, after all...

Anyway, thanks for reading, and leave a review on your way out! It helps me improve as always, and in turn helps to refine the story and make it more enjoyable in future chapters.

Until the next!

* * *

**Guest Review Replies** from October 30th onward.

Chapter 9:

Guest: Yep, he can only modify one 'blueprint', and can't hold duplicates of the same sword, even if they're different shapes.

Guest: Yeah, that's a shame that Heart of Iron hasn't updated. It was a really good story, too.

Guest: Hm... it's probably not going to be completely as dark as HF, but it might be a bit darker than A Different Path? I dunno, gauging it off the top of my head like that's kinda hard.

Guest: It sounds right because I can't confirm or deny anything without giving things away?

Guest: All Void Mages lack an 'aspect' of their personality, making them somewhat distorted. Louise is lack of 'confidence' or 'selfworth'. Tiffania is lack of 'malice. Josef is lack of 'emotion'. And the Pope is lack of 'doubt'. At least that's what I have in mind so far. I had in depth notes on this, but I seem to have lost them...

Guest: Yes. Better than an average sword, but only barely on the level of a Noble Phantasm.

Guest: The Sword feels overkill is the best policy, so used Tsubame Gaeshi with the Shooting Hundred Heads to completely eradicate the opponent in an instant.

Guest: Gotcha!

Guest: Indeed, it is supposed to be Emiya.

Chapter 10:

Troll: Now that is the real question, isn't it? XD

Guest: To be honest, I've never heard of Legend of the Legendary Heroes before now, but I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter.

bro: Yeah, I know . A lot of it got stripped down when I went over it though, and that's what we ended up with, while the other half is for the next chapter. I should stop saying how long they'll be... it sets up incorrect expectations, I guess...


	11. To War: Prince of the White Country

_**To War: Prince of the White Country**_

Emiya arrived at La Rochelle around dusk. While he could have arrived earlier, he had slowed down once he was a far distance ahead of Wardes and Louise and took the time to stop at various towns to get directions.

In hindsight, he probably should have learned where their destination was before setting off.

Emiya shook his head, and then looked up at the sky. Louise and Wardes were still a far distance away, barely visible to a regular human's eyes, but with that guy's griffin they would be arriving soon.

"Wow."

Derf rattled, the sword's equivalence of shaking his head. "You really did it, Sword. I thought you were just kidding."

Emiya gave him a slight smile. "Swords do not boast, Derf. You should know this."

"I do. But still..." Derf rattled again. "A guy like you can make other swords feel inadequate, you know?"

Emiya shrugged. "I am His blade. It's to be expected."

A moment of silence.

Emiya stood outside of La Rochelle, on the road leading to its depths. Since Louise had yet to arrive, he was waiting there until she did.

A few travelers glanced his way as they passed, but left him undisturbed as they went on their way. From their reactions, they were probably used to strange characters showing up around these parts, something expected considering La Rochelle's position as a port city.

Port City La Rochelle. From the name of it, Emiya had been expecting a sea bound port, with their transportation to Albion being a ship. Not having yet been able to look at a map, Emiya had assumed Albion was an island, and so they would be heading there through the sea.

Well, he hadn't been wrong about them taking a ship, but he was wrong about it being a seafaring vessel.

Albion, it turned out, was an island in the skies, kept afloat through magic. To get to said island, people took an airship, which was literally an air_ship_ made of wood and all, from La Rochelle.

As for the city itself, it was a defensible place made completely out of reinforced stone. Shaped not by human hands, but rather by magic, the city was essentially the mountain itself, restructured to suit human habitation. Practical, though Emiya wondered if it wasn't just 'Noble Pride' showing through.

Emiya stood outside of La Rochelle, on the road leading to its depths. Louise still hadn't arrived.

There was a stone overhang above the road leading within the city. Likely a strategic placement in case of invaders... or a means for the Nobles to quell any advancing mobs of commoners in times of turmoil without getting retaliation. It was the perfect place for an ambush, after all, be it with magic or arrows.

Derf's voice brought him out of his thoughts. "...Hey, Sword."

"Yes?"

Derf hesitated a bit. Odd, considering that it wasn't in steel's nature to hesitate. "You keep talking about 'Him' and being 'His' blade. Now, even a rusty hunk of steel like me can tell you don't mean an ordinary guy. Your maker... he wasn't an elf or a mage, was he?"

Emiya frowned. "Does it matter?"

"Not really." Derf paused. "But it's strange. I was made with Ancient Magic, but I can tell that you weren't, even if we're similar. And there's something about you, Sword, something that doesn't belong."

_So he can tell._

"Of course." Emiya answered like it was a matter of fact. "I am His blade, the Sword of Akasha. I am the one that holds creation and destruction in equal regards, the Sword that severs reality itself to carve a new fate."

Derf stilled. "...Hey. You're kidding, right?"

"A sword makes no boasts."

Derf shuddered. "Then 'He' is... well, damn. No wonder Pinky summoned you as the Heard and not the Left Hand. If she had gotten you as that instead... here I thought you couldn't get any scarier, Sword. I'm surprised 'it' hasn't appeared yet."

Emiya tilted his head. "It?"

"Ah, don't worry about it. As long as you don't cross the World, 'it' should still sleep. Though even if 'it' woke up, you still might not have a problem if you're really 'that' sword."

_'It'... is Derf talking about this World's Counter Guardians? Or perhaps a TYPE? _If that was the case, Emiya might have to restrict himself to using only Noble Phantasms and deploying his Reality Marble internally.

Emiya grimaced. _That would be a pain._

It wasn't that he was concerned about facing a TYPE. Emiya was sure that he could at least repel it should they come to blows, if not outright destroy it with His Magic. But even so, the collateral damage was something he would prefer to avoid. Rin had scolded him enough the last time he faced one.

Well, after she had gotten over the fact that he had managed to not only live through the encounter but destroy half its body before sending it back to its planet.

Anyway, he didn't want to risk an encounter with a TYPE. At least not until Louise mastered her abilities. As his Master, Emiya didn't doubt that she'd incur the wrath of the TYPE as well if it ever awoke and they were designated as a threat to the World.

Of course that depended on whether or not this world actually had an Ultimate One...

"Oi. Whatcha doin' there?"

A voice called out to him, and it wasn't Derf's.

Emiya turned towards it to see a group of men approaching from within the city. A ragtag gathering of bandits, thieves, and mercenaries. Their leader, a balding muscle-bound man wielding a large axe, was the one who had addressed him.

That man saw Derf and then gave Emiya a wide grin. "You 'ere for the job too?

Emiya contemplated his response, and then put a hand on Derf's hilt.

"...Tell me more about this 'job'."

* * *

It was an anticlimactic encounter. The group had been little more than hired thugs, and had begged for mercy within the first few seconds of their clash before telling him everything.

Emiya finished deconstructing the last of the bodies and leaned against the stone walls beneath the rocky overhangs, hidden in its shadows. Like he thought, this mission wasn't turning out as simple as it sounded when the Princess gave it to Louise.

Someone was trying to kill Louise. Granted, Emiya had already realized that considering the various incidents involving his Master back on campus. But this time was different. It seemed that she was being targeted simply because she was performing this particular mission, rather than another reason, like her potential magic or familial connections.

'Kill the girl with the griffon knight.' That was the job those people had taken.

It was a half-hearted assassination attempt, one that wouldn't have even posed the mildest threat considering they had been simple hired thugs without an ounce of magic.

Still, it was concerning.

Emiya would have thought that it would be known by now that he was Louise's protector. Not only that, but it should also be known that he was someone far above the capability of simple hired thugs, even if the princess or the headmaster had suppressed knowledge of him surpassing Karin in a duel from reaching the populace.

They shouldn't have bothered, or at least hired more competent men if they truly wanted Louise dead. Not only that, but the targets should have been the 'girl with the silver-haired man'. Everyone at the Academy had seen him with Louise, after all, and even if they noticed the two were missing, they shouldn't have realized who they left with.

And there was that keyword.

Knight.

It was too specific.

_A betrayal?_

No. it was possible that someone had seen Louise leave with Wardes this morning. It was also possible that someone recognized Wardes as a knight. It wasn't outside the realm of possibility, but even so...

_It's suspicious._

It was too odd, too coincidental.

Was Wardes not as loyal as the princess thought? The man had been hostile to Emiya from the moment they met, so it was a possibility. And there was also that strange feeling that Emiya was getting from Wardes.

Still, he should be trustworthy-

Emiya froze. A foreign line of thought.

Why would Wardes be trustworthy? If anything, he was suspicious. The top candidate for hiring those thugs, as well as any future troubles that might occur.

_But he's Louise's fiancé._

He wouldn't hurt Louise. Despite how hostile he was towards Emiya, Wardes seemed to genuinely care for Louise's well-being.

Emiya frowned. _Naive._

That was delusional thinking. Irrational. It was highly likely that he just wanted to use Louise, either through her family connections or other reasons... and yet Emiya felt that he could trust Wardes.

Derf's voice cut through his thoughts and brought him back to the present situation. "You still going through with this, Sword?"

"I'm... not sure." Emiya's frown deepened. "Everything about this is wrong. There are too many suspicious coincidences, too many things I can't ignore."

And there was that strange disconnect he had on Wardes as well...

"Why don't you just take Pinky back home?" Derf shifted. "It's not like anything could stop you if you wanted to."

Emiya shook his head. "War is already on Tristain's doorsteps as it is. Even if we returned, she'd be in just as much danger as she is now, and without the experience. No... it's better to follow through on this mission, even if it's foolhardy."

Derf scoffed. "Just cut down their army by yourself if you're that worried, Sword! It won't take long, you know? Even against an army of mages, you'd easily win."

Emiya was silent.

Right. He could do that. It wouldn't be hard. In fact, that would be the most efficient thing to do.

A sword was meant to cut down the enemies before it. His enemies were anyone that would harm Louise, and that included the Albion Rebel Army.

_Cut them down._

No hesitation. Running without stopping, cutting down every enemy, every obstacle before him in order to ensure those he protected were safe.

Even if they turned against him because of it.

That was how he existed. That was how he had always existed.

So that was what he should do.

Clear cut. Logical. Just eliminate the threat before it arrives. And from that point on, cut down all other threats that arrive. Leave nothing to chance, and keep her safe.

That was what Emiya should do, what he would do-

But something held him back. Not a compulsion. Not an instinct. Just... something.

Something was telling him to reject that. To go against his nature, or else he would regret it. That rushing recklessly into this affair would end in only regrets.

_Regret?_

What did that matter to a sword like him? He wasn't human, so that was fine. He could live with regrets. He did live with regrets.

Emiya turned towards the island in the sky, towards Albion. A single bound and a launched sword could land him there in no time at all. From that point on, he just had to systematically eradicate everyone there that opposed him.

Right. Like he had always done. Completely destroy all threats-

_Disappointment. Fear. Rejection. Anger. Grief._

_Why did you kill them?!_

-A searing pain in his core, a gnawing feeling inside his chest.

Something was wrong. Something was wrong. Something was wrong.

There was something wrong, something here he was missing, something wrong here that he should realize, but didn't. Couldn't. A missing piece to a puzzle that was important, that was changing him, that he should know-!

A gust of wind, swiftly followed by the sounds of Louise berating Wardes.

Emiya looked up to greet them, all thoughts of the oddity scattered upon seeing them.

In doing so, he missed Derf speak, the ancient sword's voice muffled beneath the sounds of Louise and Wardes arriving.

"So that's how it is, huh?"

* * *

Wardes arranged for them to stay at the most ornate hotel in the city, a place named the Goddess's Temple. It was a place that stood completely apart from the rest of La Rochelle, carved completely out of polished marble.

Emiya didn't like it. The place was far too opulent, reeking of Noble pride. Of the clear separation between the hardworking common folk and those born to privileged.

Like those pretentious magi at the Clock Tower and how they had refused to let Rin get a workshop due to lacking connections and coming from a 'backwater country'.

...Louise seemed to enjoy the place though, so Emiya kept his opinion to himself.

Since they had arrived at La Rochelle far earlier than Wardes had anticipated, and because Louise was worn-out from the journey, they would be leaving for Albion first thing tomorrow morning rather than taking a ship later that evening.

For sleeping arrangements, Emiya would be staying in the room across from Louise, who would be sharing a room with Wardes.

He had considered protesting it, but in the end just left behind a small and discrete sword that allowed him to monitor the situation, as well as allowed him instant access to the room should the need arise. That, and the fact that Derf was going to be there to keep an eye on things was enough for him.

Louise had protested the Derf's inclusion in their sleeping arrangements, probably concerned about the sword speaking up at an unsuitable time or Wardes's reaction to a talking sword, but Emiya had remained steadfast about that decision.

In the end, Louise had to just deal with it, especially once Wardes agreed that Louise should get used to carrying a sword around due to her lack of control in magic.

Speaking of his Master, she was with Wardes at the moment, the two apparently having a private conversation to attend to. Something about their 'promised' status to each other. He hadn't detected any hostility or danger yet, so he was using the time allotted to him to explore the hotel more.

Eventually, he found himself in an ancient practice ground within the center of the hotel. It wasn't far from their rooms, but there, at least, he could be free from the opulent marble everywhere. A wide expanse of concrete, with debris scattered about. He found an unbroken barrel and sat down, taking a moment to sort through the recent events.

They were safe for now. While he didn't really like Wardes, he couldn't deny that Louise was safe with him _(why did he think that?)_ as Wardes didn't want her harmed in any way.

He couldn't be certain, since he hadn't had an opportunity to use his 'eyes' to determine the truth. Not without risking suspicion on the knight's end, in any case, and that wasn't a gamble he was willing to take. Not yet.

There hadn't been any hostility or malevolence directed towards Louise, however, so that was fine for now. There was plenty towards him, but Emiya attributed that as the usual feelings of a man being overprotective of his fiancé. Irrational, but Emiya recognized the reasoning behind it.

Many a magus at the Clock Tower had felt the same with him spending so much time around Rin, though it was more a sense of delusional entitlement on their end rather than true affection or a promise.

"Ah. A promise..."

That reminded him. There had been a promise he made with Rin before he arrived here. Before he went to intercept the nuclear warhead.

What was it again?

The promise was the reason he had been there in the first place. He was sure of it. The reason he bothered stopping it was because of Rin.

_Right?_

Emiya frowned, remembered that he was 'missing' something. It was more than just forgetting, or not being able to remember his memories, now that he considered it. They were there, only jumbled up and out of order.

He remembered various incidents in and with the Clock Tower. He remembered Rin continually chastising him for setting off some arrogant magus or another. He remembered meeting Zelretch, as well as being tentatively included among the number of the True Sorcerers.

He remembered something about children, as well as protecting people. He remembered that those he protected pushed him away, and he remembered continuing to protect them from the shadows.

Sakura. Ayako. Rin.

Those three remained prominent in his memories.

Ilya and Archer... no. Herr Einzbern. The latter returning to a human body and trying to become a modern day hero with the former's support. Saving Ilya and reversing her modifications with Rin's help. He remembered that.

Years spent protecting them. Years spent volunteering. Years spent wandering the world.

Years blending into decades, into centuries. Those he cared for aging and fading as time was prone to do to humans.

In the end, the ones left had been-

Emiya felt a _jerk_ in his memories before it continued.

_What?_

Who had been left behind? He couldn't remember that.

What happened next?

A promise. A promise with Rin...? Right. There was a promise. And then that bomb-

_Wait._

A nuclear strike shouldn't have killed him. Something like that, even if reinforced with thaumaturgy, wouldn't have been enough to kill him. Only something that would destroy the planet, or at least an entire continent would have been capable of completely eradicating him, so something about that situation didn't fit.

He had thought that nuclear strike would have ended him. Would have been the end for him.

Why did he believe that?

"So this is where you wandered off to."

A cool voice brought him out of his thoughts. Wardes was standing against the archway leading inside the parade grounds, casually leaning against the marbled entrance. He sighed, and shook his head. "I would have thought Louise's familiar to be more diligent than this."

Emiya rose to his feet. "Where's Louise?"

"My dear fiancé is currently resting in our room, worn out from the day's travel."

"I see." A quick synchronization with the sword he left in the room confirmed that fact. "...And is there a reason you left her unprotected?"

It was foolhardy. Wardes couldn't have known that Emiya could be there in an instant, and Emiya doubted the knight had a similar capability. To that extent, it was reckless. Something a fiancé wouldn't risk. Shouldn't risk, especially considering the inherent danger of their mission.

Wardes smiled. "Is there a reason you did the same?"

A flicker of irritation.

Emiya suppressed it. "You were supposed to protect her."

"Indeed, I was. But it is a familiar's role to stand by their master, is it not?" Wardes straightened and started walking towards him. "Why aren't you there right now?"

The flicker of irritation turned into a small ember. "That's because-

Wardes interrupted him. "It's because you aren't suited to stand with my dear Louise, Emiya. You cannot protect her."

Emiya narrowed his eyes. "What are you trying to say, Viscount Wardes?"

Wardes held that same smile, and he drew his sword. "Let us duel. In it, I will show you the difference between you and I."

That ember of irritation turned into a flame, and Emiya projected a steel sword to meet Wardes's challenge. As he did so, a thought ran through his mind. "...You realize that you face the one who defeated the Heavy Wind, correct?"

Wardes continued to smile, an unchanging expression, and said, "Of course."

_Arrogance. Pride. Ambition?_

In the moments before the duel, Emiya managed to detect those emotions from Wardes, the motive behind initiating this duel.

A cutting wind snapped him out of his analysis.

Emiya snapped his arm up, batting the attack away with contempt. "Do you think so lightly of me, Wardes?"

The man kept smiling, that same irritating expression. "It wouldn't do to hurt my dear Louise's familiar, would it?"

_That's it._

He was done playing around.

A difference in ability. A gap that couldn't be breached.

Emiya would show Wardes the difference between them.

He didn't bother with the steel sword, dissolving it back into the units of prana that created it.

Wardes cast another spell, slightly stronger. Still, it was far from the spells Karin had cast. Far from being able to harm him.

Emiya dashed through the attack, letting it pass over him, and reached his hand out to grab Wardes's neck-

_What?_

Something happened. In an instant, Wardes surpassed him in speed and agility and leapt clear across the room. Something that should be impossible.

Even Karin hadn't done so, and she was a living legend, a potential heroic spirit. One that was practically guaranteed a spot on the Throne after her death.

This man... Wardes wasn't of that level. Emiya was sure of it. He wasn't of that level, and yet he had moved as fast and as precisely as a Servant had-

"Stop!"

Emiya halted midstride and turned towards the entrance. Louise was standing there, arms crossed and eyes narrowed.

She looked between Emiya and Wardes and then scowled. "I've had enough of both of you! First you compete on the way here, and then you compete when we get to the hotel... just sit down and act like gentlemen already for Brimir's sake!"

Wardes smoothed his expression and bowed his head. "Apologies, my dear Louise. It won't happen again."

"...As you wish, Master."

He lowered his head to Louise as well, though he kept his eye on Wardes.

_That wasn't a spell he used. I'm sure of it._

* * *

It was morning. There hadn't been anything to do after Emiya's duel between against Wardes, so they had all retired for the day in order to get some rest.

Now it was a new day, and they would leave for Albion when the first ship departed, around noon from what Wardes said yesterday.

Emiya clenched his hands. The thought of the knight... it irritated him. The fact that the knight had the gall to say Emiya wasn't fit to protect Louise, that he wasn't suited for the job...

Emiya let out a breath, purposefully releasing the tension in his body.

_Relax._

It wasn't like him. Since meeting that knight, Emiya's judgment had become... lax. Decisions that should have been made, caution that should have been apparent. It had been missing, and that disturbed him.

He was different. Hesitant. Doubtful.

It wasn't like him. He was a Sword, even if he had the form of a human. Even when he had been with those he cared for, he had never been this clouded, this deluded.

Was it Louise? Did the bond between them have something to do with it?

...No. It couldn't be. His Magic Resistance was too high for his mind to be subverted by a simple familiar bond. But if not that, then what?

There was a knock at his door. "Emiya? Are you awake?"

"Yes, Master. I'm awake."

The door opened, and Louise appeared. She looked at Emiya, and then crossed her arms. "Why do you keep calling me Master? It's Louise!"

Emiya gave her a wry smile. "Master is Master, and as your Servant I shall call you as such."

Louise sighed. "...Are you still mad at me going on this mission?"

"...I wouldn't say that I'm mad," Emiya said. "But Master, this mission cannot end well. And that Viscount Wardes..." He trailed off and then looked at Louise in the eye. "How well do you know him, Master? Truly?"

"Oh, is that it?" Louise crossed her arms. "Are you jealous, now? Is that why you won't call me by my name?"

Emiya frowned. "Is something wrong, Master?"

Louise stared at him for a moment, and then sighed. "No. It's nothing."

She stared at him for a while longer, and then spun on her heel and walked out the door. "Just... come down when you're ready, Emiya."

The door closed, leaving Emiya alone with his thoughts.

_Teenage girls... I suppose I still can't understand them. _Emiya sighed and headed towards the door after Louise.

She was nowhere in sight when he exited the room. Instead, he came across a familiar face.

"Ah, Kirche?"

The red-headed girl blinked, and then gave him a broad smile. "Emiya, darling! What a coincidence meeting you here!"

She made a show of peering around him and said, "We were all wondering where you and Valliere vanished the other day. Could it be..." She sidled close to him and smirked. "Did you two sneak out to have a private rendezvous here in the Goddess's Temple? Ooh, how daring! And with Lady Karin at the academy as well..."

Emiya sighed. "No, Kirche. I did not sneak out here to have a 'rendezvous' with my Master. There were certain... events that needed to be resolved away from the academy."

"Oho, has there been a falling out between the two of you? To use my name for once and refer to Valliere in such a formal way-"

Emiya cut her off before she could go on a tangent. "Rather, why are you here, Miss Zerbst? Are you seeking an airship back to your home country?"

Kirche frowned. "Fine, change the subject. But no, I'm not here to return to Germania, despite all of the thick-headed Tristanians insisting I do so back at the academy. To tell the truth-"

"Zerbst! We got a lead on Miss Longueville-"

Kirche was interrupted by the arrival of a blonde boy vaguely familiar to Emiya, who was trailed by a petite girl with blue-green hair and a staff too large for her.

Whatever the boy was going to say was cut off by that petite girl reaching out with her staff to hook his shirt and pull him back. "Guiche, danger." Her eyes were on Emiya as she spoke, eyes that he could tell were used to scanning for danger and other hazards.

Kirche sighed. "Tabitha, dear, I know Gramont is annoying but you don't have to choke him to death."

Tabitha gave a curt nod, and then let Guiche go, the blonde stumbling forward and rubbing his throat. She didn't let him off with just that though, giving the blonde a sharp glare.

Emiya had been silent through their brief exchange, but decided then to ask about why Kirche and the others were there.

He turned towards Kirche and raised an eyebrow. "Miss Longueville?"

* * *

"...And that's why we're here."

Emiya nodded after Kirche finished telling their story.

It appeared that the blonde, Guiche Gramont, had seen the identity of the thief that broke into the Academy's vault. After reporting it to the headmaster, he had volunteered to chase after her, vowing upon his pride as a Noble.

Kirche and Tabitha conveniently happened to be passing by at the time to report on other affairs, and also volunteered for the mission. Kirche mostly because of the inherent adventure and Tabitha because Kirche was going along.

They had managed to follow the thief's movements to La Rochelle, and Guiche had just learned that a person matching the thief had been seen heading for Albion, which brought the events back to the present.

"I see," Emiya said. "How reckless of you all."

It was a foolhardy course of action for the three, something that only the young who thought they were immortal, who hadn't realized the dangers of war and battle could follow. While Emiya had no doubt that the three were talented and had the potential to become excellent mages, the only one in their group with actual experience appeared to be Tabitha.

The one who responded to his remark was Guiche. "Reckless?" The blonde shook his head, his hand thoughtfully twirling the bronze rose that acted as his wand. "...Perhaps. But even if I am not as capable an earth mage as you, Sir Emiya, I also have my convictions."

It was an oddly mature statement to come from the blonde... though perhaps he had realized something during the events at the academy to make him think so. It might just be a start, but Guiche seemed to have a bit of steel in him.

Emiya sighed. "Do as you want. It isn't my responsibility to protect you."

He turned around, intending to find Louise. He'd wasted enough time satisfying his curiosity. _She'll probably be mad that I took so long-_

DANGER.

A sudden feeling, thought, _emotion_ cut through his core. So unexpected it was that Emiya stumbled for a step.

SAVE HER.

His chest was burning, burning, burning like something was stabbing through his heart.

NOW!

"Darling? What's the matter?"

Static.

K****e came into his field of vision.

_Enemy? No. Not an enemy. Where's the enemy?_

Danger. She was in danger. There was danger and _he wasn't there to protect her!_

"Kirche. Stairs."

Stairs. She had gone ahead of him, down the stairs to meet with that-

_insufferablearrogantincompetent_

-knight that called himself her fiancé.

He moved.

A shadow emerged from the stairs to intercept him. An obstacle.

CUT IT DOWN.

Drawing a sword was too wasteful. Time was scarce, and he couldn't afford the delay in selecting a sword among the many he held to use in this situation-

_His body is made out of swords_

-so he didn't.

Emiya lashed out with his arms, limbs that had become twisted and deadly shards of steel.

"What in Brimir's name-? Darling, you-"

"Turning the body into steel...? I'd known you were a high-class mage, Sir Emiya, but to think that-"

K****e and G****e were talking. Irrelevant.

He moved forward. There were more shadows in his way.

Slash. Tear. Rip.

No hesitation, unlike before.

A SWORD. He didn't need to hesitate. He couldn't.

He ran out into the lobby, having descended the stairs at a breakneck pace.

More shadows were before him, barring his way. She was nowhere to be seen, but she was still in _DANGER_.

The shadows moved, and he finally realized the nature of the obstacles in his way.

Corrupted souls, empowered with magic that granted power similar to those of Servants. The individuals that inhabited those bodies were long gone, having been overwritten to accommodate the power now coursing through them.

That cutting sensation of urgency, of DANGER filled him again, and his chest felt like it was melting away from heat.

"I don't HAVE TIME TO _WASTE ON YOU_!"

The fake Servants raised their weapons. A lance, a sword, an axe. Blades and arms of all kinds were aimed at him, fake Noble Phantasms preparing to be activated.

He grit his teeth.

HURRY.

An impulse. Cut them down. She was in danger.

The strongest sword he knew. He didn't have time to waste, so-

USE IT.

-he reached for the _ORIGIN_ of His powers and-

Blazing flames followed by a volley of wickedly sharp icicles filled the lobby and knocked the fake Servants down, killing those that didn't have at least C-ranked Magic Resistance.

"Hah...hah... Emiya, darling. Tell us before you run off like that next time, alright?"

A young woman with red-hair appeared on his side.

"Dangerous to go alone. Even for you."

A petite girl with blue-green hair.

That snapped Emiya out of his trance.

"Kirche? Tabitha?"

"Hah... don't... forget me!"

Emiya turned around to see Guiche stumble into the lobby from the stairs. At the same time, the doors to the hotel burst open to reveal more of those fake Servants.

"Emiya, darling," Kirche said. "Shouldn't you be somewhere else right now?"

Emiya hesitated.

Even if they were 'fakes', those Servants had similar capabilities to the real things. If he just left them behind to go to Louise, they'd die.

_Hold on... why does that matter?_

Emiya shook his head. Louise. She was his first priority, so instead of debating whether or not to leave this to them, he should hurry up and _go protect her._

The decision was taken out of his hands when the fake Servants rushed into the lobby, aiming towards the three by his side.

He stepped forward to meet them-

"Go, Sir Emiya!"

-but they were intercepted by a small ensemble of bronze valkyries, created by Guiche.

The resistance was negligible, but it allowed enough time for Kirche and Tabitha to cut the rest down with their spells.

"...Don't die."

Kirche laughed. "Don't worry, darling, we'll take care of them for you. Now go and protect Valliere already!"

He gave them a curt nod and then sent a sword outside. An instant later, he had left them behind.

_Not once regretting, he stands there alone..._

* * *

Outside was pure chaos. Blood ran through the streets as those fake Servants cut down any and all living things in their path.

Emiya ignored it, focusing on the connection between him and Louise.

_Where is she?_

He couldn't see her. Was she dead? _No._ That wasn't possible. The bond between them was still there, if weak. So where was she?

A flash of lightning in the distance, near the harbor for the airships. Honing in on that scene with reinforced eyes, Emiya saw Wardes fighting off a group of fake Servants. An unconscious Louise was slung over his shoulder, Derflinger held in her hands with a death grip.

PROTECT HER.

His mind was scoured white by that impulse, and the next thing he knew he was standing in front of Wardes, tearing apart the fake Servants with a thrown pair of Kanshou and Bakuya _(Huh? Why did I choose these swords...?)_, clearing a path through them.

If Wardes was surprised, he didn't show it. "To the airship!"

Emiya nodded and took a step forward towards the remaining fake Servants. "I'll clear the way." He gave Wardes a single backwards glance. "Protect her with your life, Wardes. If any further harm comes to my Master, I'll sacrifice you to save her."

With that said, he turned back towards the fake Servants and rushed into combat, missing the dark expression that crossed Wardes's face.

* * *

After clearing out the rest of the fake Servants, boarding the airship and setting sail towards Albion went off without any trouble.

There weren't any hidden enemies on board, nor were there any hidden bounded fields or enchantments that could harm them.

Emiya was worried. In his entire existence, nothing had ever gone that smoothly.

Wardes had gone to discuss their situation with the captain, leaving Emiya alone with Louise in a cabin room.

Scanning Louise's body while she rested on a bed, Emiya said, "That arrogant fool... just how could he let Louise get like this?"

It looked like she had tried projection again. The damage wasn't as bad as last time, and there wasn't much Emiya had to fix, but the fact that she still tried bothered him.

"She shouldn't have had to fight," he muttered. "What happened, Derf?"

The other Sword was leaning against the wall next to Louise, both keeping an eye on the door and keeping them company.

"Well, Sword, that guy said he wanted to see Louise's magic. Insisted on it, actually."

Something _clicked_ in Emiya's head. All the oddities that had been occurring throughout this trip, the reason why he kept thinking of Wardes as 'trustworthy' even though he was anything but.

"What are you planning to do, Sword? He's your Master's enemy, right?"

"...I'll play along for now. He'll tip his hand soon enough."

Yes, Wardes was nearing his 'end game' for this mission. Emiya could see it already.

And when Wardes did, nothing would save him.

* * *

Louise was asleep. Fatigue had finally caught up to her.

She had to wake up. She had to prove that she could protect herself, that she was _worthy_ of being by 'his' side.

She wouldn't fail. She couldn't fail.

But she was asleep. The fatigue was too great, and even willpower couldn't bring her back to the waking world.

So Louise slept. And as Louise slept, she dreamed.

Louise dreamed of an endless crimson sky on the verge of dusk. A deep red, streaked with hues of violet and twinkling lights far above...

"It's pretty, isn't it?"

A soft voice, with a tone tinged in nostalgia and... sorrow?

Louise frowned, a fact that caused her frown to deepen when she realized that she had frowned. "Who are you?"

It was a woman. One with an elegant air, raven-colored hair, and intelligent eyes of the deepest aquamarine. She was wearing a crimson coat, and stared up into that brilliant sky. When Louise spoke, she turned her gaze downwards and looked at Louise, a wry smile on her face.

"I'm... a memory. Something that doesn't belong in this time anymore and something that shouldn't exist."

Louise blinked. "...Huh?"

A wide smile on the woman's face. With that, she said, "I'm glad, you know? After all these years, after all he's done, he finally has someone who can see him for who he really is instead of who he was."

She shook her head. "Ah, I'm rambling again... the thought of that idiot always could send me off on a tangent."

A wistful smile. The woman stared off into the distance, into that endless horizon as if waiting for something to appear.

Needless to say, Louise was confused. Still, she managed to piece together what the woman said. "Wait. Are you talking about Emiya?"

The woman was silent, and then started walking away. "Look after Shirou for me, won't you? I didn't go through all of that effort to get him by your side for nothing."

"Wait-! Hey, get back here!"

Louise chased after the woman, pursuing that fast retreating silhouette. But the woman was too fast, and the crimson world faded to black as Louise returned to consciousness.

Even so, the remnants of that dream remained, along with a few words.

* * *

"His heart is made of glass...?"

"Hm? Master? Are you awake?"

Louise blinked. She was lying on a bed, and Emiya was sitting on a chair next to it, keeping an eye on her.

"Shirou...? What are you doing here?" Louise paused, realizing what she just said. _Shirou...? No. His name is Emiya, not Shirou. Well, it's 'Emiya Shirou', but his name is Emiya, right? _

"Master...? Just now, what did you call me?"

She sat up and rubbed her eyes. "Nothing, Emiya. I was just..." Louise yawned. "...Half-asleep."

She turned towards him, but froze when she saw the unnervingly intense gaze he was giving her.

"W-What?! I get people's names wrong occasionally, okay!?"

Emiya nodded and gave her a slight smile. "Right, right. Even Master can get things wrong."

"H-Hey! What are you smiling about?!"

A throbbing in her chest at the sight of that expression.

Emiya shook his head. "Nothing, nothing."

* * *

"So what makes you think that the prince is in this 'Westwood', Wardes?"

The airship had arrived in Albion shortly after Louise woke up, and Wardes had immediately set off towards the forests and a place he called 'Westwood'.

"Our spy told us that a wounded young man had been seen there shortly after Reconquista succeeded against the Royalists. If all goes well, our mission should come to an end shortly."

Emiya frowned. "If your 'spy' could find out this information, couldn't the rebels? Who's to say that the prince isn't dead?"

Louise rounded on him. "Emiya! Don't say that!"

"Master. I'm being realistic. What one party in war knows, another can easily find out, especially if the information regards their territory." Emiya turned his attention back to Wardes. "Just how credible is this 'spy' of yours? And why are you so certain the prince is still there?"

Wardes gave him a cool smile. "Let's just say our spy is very good at their job."

"Is that so?"

"Emiya..." Louise warned.

Emiya patted Louise's head. "Relax, Master. If that's what your dear fiancé believes, I'll indulge him."

She spluttered and then brushed his hand away. "Emiya! You-"

Wardes grabbed Louise's shoulder. "Quiet. There's someone here."

Emiya suppressed the _irritation_ that bubbled up at Wardes being close to Louise, and looked around at the wyverns surrounding them, hidden above in the trees, as well as the one hiding his identity before them.

_...Wyverns, huh? Well, that explains why the rebels haven't found him._

"Leave. There's nothing for you in these woods."

The speaker was a young man with short blonde hair and a silver mask obscuring his face.

Wardes drew his sword-wand, raising it against the young man. "We are on a mission that depends on us reaching Westwood. If you are to stand in our path..."

The young man waved his left hand and the wyverns revealed themselves.

"...This is your second warning. There shall not be a third."

Emiya moved closer to Louise and readied a sword in his mind. _The objective is to just find the prince, right? In that case..._

"Wait!"

Before he could act, Louise stepped forward, a ring in her hands. "We've been sent by Princess Henrietta to bring the Prince Wales back to Tristain!"

Emiya sighed. "Master. It isn't the smartest idea to reveal our objective out of the blue. What if he's part of the rebel faction?"

Louise shook her head, taking another step towards the young man.

"He's not." She turned towards the young man, a determined look in her eyes. "Am I right, Prince Wales?"

A tense moment.

Emiya glanced at Wardes, and saw him lower his sword, albeit reluctantly.

"...Ah, I suppose there's no fooling you, is there, Louise?"

The young man sighed and took off his mask, revealing a regal face. "You always were too perceptive and smart for your own good."

* * *

Wales led them through the forest, leaving the wyverns behind, and to a small house in the middle of the woods.

There were children playing outside, and a pair of women watching them. One was green-haired and also vaguely familiar to Emiya, but the other was new.

She was young, green-eyed, and with a body that Emiya knew would 'charm' any man who came across her. That, coupled with a kind face hidden beneath an almost too large silk hat would leave any man smitten. That Emiya could objectively state.

She also wasn't human.

Wales called out to them. "Tiffania, Matilda. I'm back."

At his voice, the women looked up to greet him. The blonde gave them all a bright smile, pure and completely devoid of any sense of malice or fear.

The green-haired woman, however, stiffened and got to her feet immediately upon seeing them. "Come on children, let's go play inside for a bit while the grown ups talk." She turned towards the blonde and said, "I'll keep an eye on them, Tiffa. Go... help him greet our guests."

With those words, she ushered the children inside the house.

The blonde woman, who appeared to be called Tiffania, frowned and then turned towards Wales, a questioning look in her eyes.

Wales sighed and took a seat on a nearby stump to explain the situation.

Through it all, Emiya was taking a look around.

It was a scenic setting. A house in the middle of the woods, children frolicking about. The atmosphere was serene, peaceful. In fact, it was almost... nostalgic, reminding Emiya of earlier times when-

He blinked as he felt a faint tendril of... something brush against him. _What?_

It wasn't malevolent, but surprising nonetheless. Something similar to a bounded field, and yet not quite. More like... lingering sentiment in the land? No, it wasn't from the land, but rather... from the young woman?

Emiya turned his attention back to her, and realized what it was. _Ah... that's rare._ It seemed that the young woman that wasn't quite a human had quite the attunement to the world around them, which was causing odd bits of spontaneous magic, for lack of a better word.

"...I can't leave this place, Louise."

"Why not?! The princess... Henrietta needs you, Prince Wales!"

The sound of Louise raising her voice brought Emiya back to the situation at hand.

Wales shook his head, a sad smile on his face. "I am a dead man, Louise. And should word get out that Tiffania had housed me... I do not wish to inflict such hardships upon such a pure soul. No, it's better for the world to think I am dead."

Normally, Emiya would have left it at that and dragged Louise away. The mission was complete. They had found Wales, and reporting his death fulfilled the objective. But-

_It's better for me to stay out of their lives, Archer._

-a fragment of a memory surfaced at Wales's words, and Emiya couldn't leave it be.

"You can't hide forever, Prince. War is coming, and here within the enemy's land you'll be bringing more danger upon them than by leaving."

Wales sighed. "That may be so... but even then, I won't leave." He turned towards Tiffania, and then the house. "...They need me."

Tiffania lowered her head and bit her lips. "Wales... you can go with them. I... someone you love is waiting for you to return. I can't be selfish and keep you here if-"

Wales shook his head and gave her a smile. "I told you already, Tiffa, I won't leave you."

Louise sighed. "Prince Wales... you won't change your mind?"

His response was to hand Louise a ring, similar to the one given by the princess, but with a slightly different colored gemstone that was more violet than the blue gemstone in the ring given by the princess.

"...Fine. Don't come back. But you have to promise! When the war's over... when it's safe, you have to see Princess Henrietta! Promise!"

Wales smiled. "Of course. I promise."

Louise gave him a curt nod. "Alright... fine. Fine. Emiya, Wardes. Let's-"

A flash of gray, and a flash of silver to meet it.

"-go...? Wardes?! What are you doing?!"

Emiya stood in front of Wales, blocking Wardes, who had rushed in towards him.

"Tiffa, get back!"

Emiya took a brief glance back and saw that the prince and Tiffania had retreated a far distance back.

He turned his attention back to Wardes. "...My Master has already concluded the mission, Wardes. Why are you persisting on trying to persuade the prince?"

The gray-haired knight gave a lop-sided smile in response. "Our mission is to bring back the prince no matter the circumstances. Tristain will erupt in the flames of war if he doesn't appear before the princess."

"...Louise. Stay back."

"What? Emiya-"

"I said- STAY BACK!"

He shoved her to the side, just as Wardes rushed towards her, hands outstretched.

Wardes stepped back when Emiya intercepted him and said, "Hmph. I know all about you, 'Emiya Shirou'. Don't think that a few Noble Phantasms will let you beat me."

Emiya straightened. "...How do you know that name? Did Louise tell you?"

"Oh, I know much more than your name, Emiya Shirou. I know _all _about you. You and the Holy Grail War... I know _everything._"

"...Is that so?"

Emiya scanned through the techniques he could use. A single blow, one that wasn't too lethal. He needed to find out just how much Wardes knew...

-Vorpal Strike. An ultra high-speed thrust with a long reach.

That would do. He shifted his stance, taking a step back, and drew forth a nameless Noble Phantasm, holding it close to his shoulder.

"Then you should know that you're outmatched."

Emiya surged forward, attacking with a thrust that rivalled a Noble Phantasm's activation-

"What?"

-and was blocked.

"Install, Berserker."

Emiya saw a black card appear for a brief moment, and then Wardes's sword was cloaked in shadows and his clothes were stained black and red. With impossible strength, he pushed Emiya's sword to the side, and then surpassed his attack with one of his own, the black blade reaching out towards Emiya's neck.

Emiya's sword met the blackened blade, and a shockwave spread throughout the forest clearing.

Emiya narrowed his eyes. _He's fast..._

"What's wrong, Emiya?" Wardes grinned, a malevolent expression twisted with madness. "Shocked that you've met your match in this world?"

He advanced, the blackened sword sweeping out in blinding attacks.

Emiya was quiet, blocking each blow and analyzing the situation.

_He's strong and quick, but his precision is lacking now. It seems that whatever he used gives him the attributes of a Servant, like those others back in the hotel, but none of the skill. Raw power. _

Emiya grimaced as he parried another of Wardes's attacks.

_Even so, raw power is deadly in the right hands, and he still hasn't used any magic yet._

Louise was behind him. He couldn't afford to let Wardes shift targets, but he also couldn't afford to change weapons. It might take no time at all to draw forth another sword from his world, but the moment he did would be enough for Wardes to act.

He also didn't have the opening to use any of his skills as pressed as he was. Sword skills wouldn't work here, and his weapon couldn't stand up to the higher level abilities he knew.

...No. That wasn't the reason why he was holding back.

He caught Louise's troubled expression off to the side.

_Ah, that's why._

His Master loved Wardes. Even if he was like this, Louise still loved him, still felt that Wardes was important. Subconsciously, Emiya was holding back because of that.

If he killed Wardes, would Louise hate him? Would she resent him for it?

The thought wouldn't have even come into mind if it was the him before he was summoned, but it seemed that spending time with Louise had affected him more than he thought.

Wardes stepped back, the distance opening up between the two for the first time in countless blows. "Hmph. If you aren't going to fight me seriously, Emiya Shirou, then I'll just end you."

He lunged, a predictable thrust towards Emiya's heart. Being so predictable, Emiya reflexively swung his sword up to parry it, not bothering to avoid the blow.

When he noticed the black lightning crackling on the blade, it was too late.

Demonic lightning cut through his chest.

* * *

It was only a moment. After pushing Louise away, Emiya had rushed towards Wardes and the two clashed in a furious steel gale.

She hesitated, her heart still undecided.

She loved Wardes, but she couldn't be without Emiya.

...Did she love Wardes? After that dream, Louise wasn't sure. But he had been the first to accept her, to _want_ her instead of just tolerate her.

But she couldn't be without Emiya. The one who was so broken as to be like a golem, to be so accustomed to violence it had become second-nature... he was like a drawn sword that had gone through so many battles. One that would break if there wasn't someone nearby to maintain it, to watch over it.

She hesitated.

If she called out to one of them, they would pause. Of that she was sure. Doing so would allow the other the chance to kill the one opposing him.

Emiya or Wardes. Who did she want to live, and who could she not live without?

She hesitated, and the choice was taken away from her.

A spear of pitch black lightning pierced through Emiya's chest.

_No._

He staggered back, an expression of shock on his usually calm face.

_No!_

Blood dripped from a gaping hole in his chest, a wound that had torn right through his heart. A wound that was, without a doubt, lethal.

_NO!_

Louise's mind ground to a halt.

That was a fatal wound. Emiya couldn't survive from that. Even the most skilled water mage couldn't heal a destroyed heart.

Emiya, who had sworn to protect her, was dying. The Emiya that she thought was invincible was dying.

She had taken it for granted. Emiya was so strong. Strong enough to beat even Karin. So she didn't think that he would ever get hurt. That someone could beat him.

No. She wasn't wrong. Emiya had been holding back. He hadn't used his other swords, or even that rain of steel that he had done against Karin.

She saw his expression. His gaze only on her, an apologetic smile.

It was because of her. Because she was indecisive, Emiya held back. He noticed. He noticed how she was troubled by the fight. Even if Wardes was a traitor, she had still loved him.

Emiya, the selfless person he was, had decided not to kill him because of that. Because he cared about Louise, he hadn't given his all, and that led to the impossible situation in front of her.

Emiya was dying, and Wardes had killed him.

A void opened in her heart, a gnawing _emptiness_ that tore at her chest, as if she was the one who had been hurt.

Unforgiveable.

She was an idiot. A blind idiot.

She loved Wardes? Ridiculous. She might have felt something for him, but it was more like an infatuation. Even if he was her fiance, she still hadn't made up her mind.

The reason for that was the silver-haired idiot. The selfless dummy that did selfish things for her sake.

And now it was too late. Because she was so indecisive, because she hesitated, Emiya was dying. No, with that wound, he was as good as dead.

Time ground to a halt.

It didn't matter anymore. Worthless. Because she was so worthless, this had occured. Because she was such a pathetic girl, an indecisive wretch, she had lost the only person who ever believed in her. Who truly believed in her, unlike Cattleya who cared, but didn't understand.

Before she realized what she was doing, Derflinger was in her hands.

"Eh...? Pinky, what are you doing?"

It didn't matter anymore. Nothing mattered anymore.

Worthless.

She was worthless.

This life was worthless.

Wardes was worthless.

-That's right.

Wardes had killed Emiya. That guy was the reason Emiya wouldn't be with her anymore.

"O-oi!" Derf rattled in her hands. "Pinky! If you let loose with that spell, this entire island's going to disappear!"

Louise took a step forward. "So?"

Wardes had turned around, a wicked smile on his face. "Yes! Louise, that power... you've awakened to it!"

Irritating. That voice of his was irksome. That face of his was irksome. Everything about that man was irksome.

Worthless. Pathetic.

_Erase him._

Derf shuddered, as if the blade was convulsing in pain. "Pinky- Louise! Stop!"

She raised her sword, Derflinger sucking in everything around her. Light, air, sound. The very colors seemed to bleed away as her vision turned to black and white-

Crimson dyed the ground before her as Wardes fell to the ground, and she found herself wrapped in firm arms.

"Man... you're just as troublesome as Rin was, Master."

A voice broke through the void of sound, reaching the ears that shouldn't have been able to hear anything.

_It's a lie._

He couldn't be alive. That wound was fatal, and Emiya couldn't even breathe, let alone be there in front of her.

"Relax, Louise. I'm here. I won't leave you."

Color gradually returned to Louise.

"...You promise?"

"I promise."

The void in her chest faded, and feeling returned to her numb body.

"...Idiot."

"Yeah, I know."

Emiya patted her head. "Everything's alright. Now... rest, alright? We'll decide what to do after you wake up."

Louise shook her head. "But I'm not ti...red..."

She saw Emiya give her a relaxed smile, one that was different from his usual one in a way that she couldn't quite place...

_Ah. That's it._

She realized why.

His expression that had been so mechanical for once looked... human.

That was the last thought Louise had before her world faded into black.

* * *

A/N: This chapter was... difficult. Even after continually reworking it, the thing still doesn't match up to what I envisioned. Still, this story's been sitting for far too long without progress, so for the sake of the creative well not becoming stale from disuse, I'm leaving it as is. There are probably parts that don't fit or seem odd, and there might be mistakes in there, but it'll just have to stay like that for the time being while I keep the steam engine rolling.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you gained at least some amount of enjoyment from the chapter.

As for review replies, er... I'll start answering them again this chapter onward.


	12. To War: Changes, changing

**_To War: Changes, changing_**

* * *

Louise fell unconscious and her grip on Derflinger slipped, causing the sword to fall to the ground.

Emiya held onto Louise, ensuring she wouldn't collapse, and then lifted her into his arms like he would a bride. That done, he turned his attention to Derf.

The sword lay cracked and splintered, Louise's magic almost breaking it in its entirety.

"Are you alright, Derf?"

Derf shuddered. "Yeah, I'm alright. Nothing you can't fix, right? Still, for pinky to be able to use 'that' already." Derf shuddered again.

"That?"

"Ah, it's nothing, pal. Anyway, mind keeping me in that place you keep the other swords? This old blade needs a bit of rest before anything else happens."

"...You don't mind?"

"What, a sword like me getting to rest with other legendary blades for a while? I thought you knew me better than that, pal." The sword feigned being upset, but it was hard to do with just a blade as a body.

"You know what I mean. If you get put there, then..."

"Hah, you're upset about that? I don't mind you seeing them, pal. Besides, with what your Master's getting into, you'll probably need those memories more than I do. And I'll get to see yours as well, right? Sounds fair to me."

"...Alright." Emiya nodded, and then focused his attention on Derf. After a few moments, the sword faded in a display of light. Emiya felt Derf settle somewhere within, as well as information start to fill his mind, but he ignored it and then turned his attention to his surroundings.

The battle had taken them back to the forest path that they arrived on. They were now a fair distance away from the house, and both Wales and Tiffania were nowhere to be seen.

Emiya paused, considering what to do next. The prince had stated his intentions to stay, and Wardes had shown his true colors. All in all, their purpose for staying in Albion was fulfilled.

Emiya cast his eyes around again, taking in the aftermath of the battle.

Trees laid broken and burned from the lightning that Wardes casted in their bout. The ground was torn and scattered, craters formed in places where Emiya had pushed off against it to attack.

Emiya sighed. "With all of this, staying hidden will be tough for them."

There was no way anyone could miss what had happened. Not only were there physical signs of a devastating clash, but the ever-present mana in the surroundings had been depleted and replaced with a 'void' from Louise's magic.

"You're turning out to be quite a troublesome Master, Louise."

She didn't respond, still unconscious.

Emiya shook his head, a slight smile on his face, but then focused on Wardes's corpse, a few steps away from them.

The corpse was in a state of disrepair, bubbling with ominous dark energy and dissolving with each passing moment. An unnatural, yet vaguely familiar sight to Emiya.

"Install, Berserker. That was what he said." Emiya frowned and narrowed his eyes. "An attempt to fuse with a heroic spirit? No, not a heroic spirit, but rather a failed copy of one. And the origin of that attempt is-"

Any further analysis on Emiya's end was stopped when the knight's corpse suddenly collapsed, crumbling into dark ash that quickly dissipated.

It was troubling. It wasn't too surprising that Servants existed here, as well as Heroic Spirits, but the fact that there was a means to infuse their power into a human body was concerning. True, the quality had been low and Emiya could deal with it, but the recollection of how there had been similar beings before their arrival in Albion came to mind.

And then there was the fact that Wardes had known who he was-

_No. That's not right._

If Wardes had known about him, then he wouldn't have called Emiya by that name. Instead...

_"I know all about you, Emiya Shirou. Don't think that a few Noble Phantasms will let you beat me."_

Emiya sighed, the pieces coming together a bit. _It seems that the Kaleidoscope's been in play. Someone else from that world is here, but not from my time._

"You..."

A voice drew Emiya out of his thoughts.

He turned towards it to see Wales standing off to the side. It seemed that the prince had made his way back from the house sometime in Emiya's contemplation. That, or he had been hiding the entire time and Emiya had missed it.

"...What are you?" The prince continued.

Emiya tilted his head. "I am Louise's familiar, Prince. That is all that you need to know. Anyway, could you lead the way back? My Master's been through a lot, and I'd like for her to have a comfortable place to rest."

Wales didn't reply. Instead, he stood there and stared at Emiya with wide eyes.

Emiya frowned at the prince's lack of response, but then he realized where the prince was staring.

In the middle of Emiya's chest, steel screeched. Metallic grating followed by the sprouting of blades to fill a gap. Blood that should be gushing out from a fatal wound was lacking. In its place, liquid metal oozed, filling the spaces made by crisscrossing blades.

"Ah. That."

For a moment, the prince opened his mouth as if he was going to ask a question, but then he shook his head. "No, you don't have to answer. If my cousin Louise trusts you, I will do the same." He let out a sigh and then turned around. "Follow me. Tiffania should be able to arrange something for Louise to rest."

"As you say."

With that, the prince set off, Emiya following close behind with Louise in his arms.

* * *

She was dreaming. And while she was dreaming, she saw it.

It was a scene from sometime long ago. Before 'his' life began, there was an ideal that 'he' pursued. A dream that he once held dear, but cast aside as events occurred to selfishly protect those close to him. Reaching beyond humanity's grasp for a miracle, he attained it. And with that miracle, he managed to save someone's life at the cost of another.

The first time, was without consequence. But the second...

There was a sacrifice. For recreating a miracle, he gave his life. For the power to overturn a reality where he failed to save them, he shattered his soul and created a 'sword' that could cut that existence away.

Thus ended the life that 'he' had.

...Louise was dreaming.

Three women that played a central role in his life before 'he' became a sword. Women that slowly drifted away from him as time passed, unable to face the fact that only a remnant of 'him' remained after his sacrifice.

Unable to accept that, though his face was the same, though his mannerisms, smile, and disposition was similar, the one they had known had long passed.

And so they left, leaving him behind to continue in their lives. At least, all but one of them left.

Louise saw a room. It was small, yet welcoming. Private, and adorned with comfortable furniture. In it were two people. One was a woman with raven-colored hair and clear blue eyes. She wore a crimson coat, and sat at a desk looking over some papers.

The other was a man- no, a teenaged boy. Hair tinted silver with matching eyes, he stood at the ready, garbed in armor that was familiar to Louise, slightly to the left and behind the woman.

After a moment of silence, the woman sighed and said, "How much longer are you going to keep doing this?"

The teenager stiffened, and then said, "I don't know what you're talking about, Rin."

Rin sighed and turned around to look at him. "How much longer are you going to pretend that you're not him? I've gone over the calculations a thousand times now, and even if you say you aren't-"

"Rin."

A stern voice, cool in its reply. "No matter how many times you say it, that will not change the fact that Emiya Shirou has passed on from this world."

"And you're wrong! Shirou-"

"Rin! I am not him-"

"You _are_!" Rin jumped out of her chair and glared at him. "You are Shirou. Even if you don't have his memories, you have his soul, his origin, his Magic! Even if he made you, you're still-"

"That's enough." 'Shirou' sighed. "I still don't understand why you insist on this, Rin. After all this time, it doesn't matter who or what I am as long as I can continue to protect you."

"...And when I'm not here anymore?"

He was silent for a moment and then said, "Don't be ridiculous. With your gems and magic, that won't happen anytime soon."

" That's not what I mean and you know it!"

"...I don't understand."

"You're not just a sword! I _know_ you aren't! No matter how much you try to hide it under that 'mind of steel', I can tell that you have feelings! If you keep going at this rate, then when everyone's gone... you'll be all alone..."

Rin finished in a soft voice.

"That's not true. Ayako and Sakura's children-"

"-Won't have anything to do with you since you refused to be involved in their lives!"

"...Even so, as long as I can protect them-"

"Dammit Shirou!" Rin clenched her hands. "You... if you keep living like that, you'll end up worse than Archer. Without an ideal, without a goal, without a purpose... you'll just be used and thrown away!"

"Then so be it."

The scene shifted, fading away like static, and Louise realized she was dreaming.

_These are... Emiya's memories?_

That single thought and realization set off a chain reaction of events. The small piece of curiosity seemed to draw an answer to itself, and Louise found herself witnessing other scenes.

He walked among a group of orphans, playing with them and handing out small plushed toys as he made his way to end the war lord ruling over their homes.

He stood before a woman with raven-colored hair holding a scroll and smiling, returning her smile with one of his own.

It was a barrage of images, scenes without end.

Louise was forced to watch it all, and as she did, she noticed that happy memories were far and few. Instead, flashes of battlefields and attacking swords repeated and over. In each, Emiya fought alone, and always against seemingly impossible odds.

He raised a blade against countless mages, all chasing after him with the intent to kill.

He stood alone, facing off against a monstrous entity that looked like a giant crystal spider, body tearing apart as it attacked him only to be replaced by shards of steel the moment they did.

Suffering horrendous wounds, having his body torn apart only to be sewn back together by steel blades... and then there was the lack of feelings that Louise could feel, a void present in those experiences where emotions should be.

_It's not right._ That was all Louise could think as she saw it. _It's not right!_

The only thing she could feel from him wasn't even so much a feeling as a thought- no, a command. An imperative continually echoing in his mind as Emiya fought: "Protect them."

She saw how he strove so hard to protect those he cared for, only to see them driven away by fear, and then guilt.

She saw how he shut down even the beginning buds of emotions whenever he felt them, crushing them beneath a 'mind of steel'.

She saw how he silently endured, never compensated for his efforts by his own stubbornness.

She saw his entire life span out before him... and at last, she saw 'his' end.

It was dusk, the sun close to setting.

There had been a great battle. Swords were strewn all around, piercing the ground like grave markers while countless bodies littered the area around Emiya, who remained unscathed. A seemingly one-sided victory, and yet Emiya shook his head, muttering, "So that's how it is."

His gaze was skyward, and following it Louise saw an ominous light swift approaching. It was far enough at the moment to seem like nothing more than a star in the darkening sky. But with every instant, it grew closer and closer, until it was large enough to dye the entire sky in its color.

_Run you idiot!_

Even without being there personally, Louise could tell. That light was something that would eradicate everything it touched. No matter who or what stood in front of it, they would be obliterated.

But Emiya didn't move. Instead, he stood and stared at the falling star before him. "They are foolish to think something like this is enough to stop me, but... this has gone on long enough, hasn't it?"

No answer came to him, but as if to answer his own question, he said, "Protecting them all from his world of swords. Because of that, his life needed no meaning..."

The world was filled with light, white with a brief flash of iridescence and then... nothing.

* * *

Louise woke up with a start. The first thing she noticed was that she was lying on a bed in an unfamiliar room. The second thing she noticed was that her vision was blurry, and her cheeks were wet.

It took her a while to realize why that was so, but when she did, she almost wished she hadn't.

_Shirou... _The name came readily into her mind.

"..."

_It's not fair._ No matter how much she thought about it, it wasn't fair.

He fought his entire life. Countless years, countless battles, countless times. He fought for the sake of a few, taking on the world itself countless times. Despite that fact, two of the three he held closest to him chose to leave him be. And even the one who stayed with him eventually left him alone, suddenly vanishing in the memories that Louise saw.

_It's not fair._

He should be rewarded. His diligence was greater than the most ideal knight. His patience was longer than the greatest sage. And his devotion was to the level that a hundred storybooks couldn't fill.

He fought, bled, almost died for their sakes, over and over and over again. And he did it without complaint, even when they turned away. He did it without thought of a reward, without hope of compensation, and without resentment towards what he called his 'duty'.

"It's not fair..."

"Hm? Louise? Are you up?"

Louise flushed at hearing Shirou answer her.

She sat up and rubbed her eyes, using the motion to wipe away her tears. _Hopefully he didn't notice._

Shirou smiled at her from a table a few paces away. Derflinger was propped up in a chair in front of him.

"I was just talking with Derf here about your magic. You might have a bit of a headache, but you should be fit for travel. Do you want to head off, or do you want to stay and rest a bit more?"

"I..." Louise frowned, the events of earlier catching up to her.

Wardes, his betrayal, her thinking that Shirou had died-

She shook her head. "We should go. Her Majesty is waiting for us, and..." _I need time to think._

Too much had happened in too short of a time. All that Louise wanted to do was go back to her room and sleep.

"Alright, Louise," Shirou said. "Grab Derf, and let's go say goodbye to the Prince and head back home."

Louise gave him an absent-minded nod and got out of the bed to do just that.

The whole time, she avoided Shirou's gaze, her mind still on those battlefields she had seen and the life that ended without compensation.

* * *

Southeast of Tristain lay the country of Gallia. The most populous country in Halkeginia, as well as the second largest, it remained unaffected by the ongoing of war in Albion, at least on the surface. Yet in its inner workings, the truth was quite the contrary.

The throne room of the royal palace in the city of Versailles. Here, two men met to discuss the recent on goings in the land.

One was the king of the land, sitting in his throne with his royal regalia, acting the part of the dutiful ruler. Sharp eyes reflecting no light framed with steely blue hair vaguely parted to the side and a scruffy beard... this was the man known as Joseph Gallia.

Before him stood another man. His body could be said to be a weapon itself, trained to the level a step away from mastery. Though his attire was unfamiliar in comparison to the clothes he wore in the past, a heavy black cloak and substituting for his familiar enchanted robes, anyone who knew him would not mistake the blank eyes and mirthless smile hidden beneath long black hair.

Kotomine Kirei idly rubbed his left hand, shining with the light of runes even now, as he approached the throne.

"I presume you have good news?" Joseph said.

"Of course. As we planned, Reconquista has been armed with the 'weapons' we discussed, and are on course to invade Tristain within the week."

"Already? Hah, you do a good job, Gandalfr." Joseph smiled, one that was more a thin line cutting across his face than an expression of mirth. "It won't be long before all of Halkeginia is drawn into the flames of war."

"War?" Kotomine scoffed. "It will be more of a bloodbath than a war."

"True." Joseph paused. "But that will make it all the more interesting. To see the despair in men's eyes as they face the unbeatable... ah. That reminds me. Have you learned what happened to the pawn you sent against that Emiya Shirou?"

"He failed, but it was to be expected considering his opponent. However, he at least managed to confirm that Tristain's void has awoken before dying."

"Hm... A pity. Removing yet another player from this game would have expedited matters. No matter. At least we have confirmed Tristain's involvement in the 'war'. All that is left is for Romalia to make their move."

"Indeed."

Joseph tilted his head. "You are being awfully reticent today, Kotomine. Did something go wrong in one of your plots?"

Kotomine frowned. "No. I was only thinking about Emiya Shirou."

"Hah, again with that boy? Did you not say that you could handle him if you came to blows? His specialty is making blades, as you said, and with your 'class', Gandalfr, a battle between you two should be quickly settled."

"That is true. However, I am beginning to believe that he is different from the one I am familiar with."

Joseph raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

Kotomine shook his head. "It matters not. Only an interesting aside that I had witnessed. In any case, the play has been set. All that is left to do is wait and see."

Joseph sighed. "How dull... though you have shown me enough interesting things to make up for it, Kotomine. Very well. I will leave you to it. Report again once something occurs."

"As you wish."

With those words, Kotomine left the throne room, erasing his presence as he did. On the way out, however, he couldn't help but note the fact that he was yet again working with someone who thought of him and his actions as mere diversions from everyday boredom, as well as draw parallels between Joseph and a certain golden king.

While the pair in Gallia met, yet another pair met in a country not far away.

To the south of Gallia lay the Holy Romalian Empire, one embodying the legacy of Founder Brimir himself. The ruler of this country, while technically an emperor, was the Pope of the Brimir religion. Acting as the head of Brimir's following, which stretched across all of Halkeginia, Vittorio Serevare, St. Aegis the 32nd, without a doubt held the most power in all of the land, such that even the royalty would hesitate to go against him.

In addition to his authority, his appearance was one that drew the eye. Long blonde hair appearing an untarnished gold, clear gray eyes and a benevolent smile upon a face that could be called effeminate... his followers would call him 'graceful' and 'divine', too good to stand among the common folk.

Despite this, the Pope was acting in a manner directly contrasting his role and image. He kneeled against the ground in a dark basement cellar with his head lowered. This was done even though he still wore the white robes marking his position that could be easily tarnished against the grimy floor.

The act would be enough to send any person seeing it question both their eyes and reality.

As for the reason for this act, before Vittorio stood another man, one with blonde hair as well, though a color that tended towards white than gold. Unlike Vittorio's long hair, the man's was short and kept in a neat part to his right side. And in direct opposition to Vittorio's kindly expression, the man's was harsh, lacking any kind of empathy.

"And how are you doing on this day?" Vittorio said.

The man completely ignored Vittorio, focusing instead on a runic circle in front of him, where a cup hovered above the ground. "...Only a quarter filled. More souls must be harvested." He muttered.

"I see." The pope nodded. "In that case, I bring good news. Spies have stated that-"

"I know enough of the circumstances, Vittorio. Did you believe I could not see it with my mastery of magic?"

"...Of course not. I merely presumed that-"

The man spun around and said, "YOU PRESUME NOTHING!"

His voice echoed in the chambers, resounding with all the wrath of a fallen god.

Upon hearing it, Vittorio flinched. "...As you say. Then, if you have nothing-"

"Leave me be. If I need you, you will appear."

-Mad. There was no doubt about it, the man that Vittorio spoke to was mad, addled in the mind. Though of course, he wouldn't dare to state it, let alone think it.

Mad the man may have been, he was also powerful. More powerful than the pope, for whom the kings and queens of the land would stop at his request.

The one known as Founder Brimir turned back to the cup before him when Vittorio had gone, staring at it as if it were the most precious thing in the world.

"A quarter filled... all four summoned." Brimir looked at the runic circle, particularly at four runes to the north, south, east, and west. "The mind, the heart. The right hand, the left hand. Shifted, turned to accommodate the heart. Yes... I can use this. The Holy Grail _will_ be filled this time."

Laughter echoed throughout the empty basement. "Sasha. Sasha, Sasha, Sasha. You foolish, foolish Elf. Did you think death would have stopped me? No, death... death will not be enough to stop my wish. I'll fill the Grail, kill the World, and reach the Origin of existence itself!"

The laughter continued to sound, filled with madness and devoid of any benevolence that was spoken of him in his teachings. A cruel, mocking laughter that echoed endlessly without end. A hysterical laughter... that if someone was present to look at him, could have been mistaken for sobs.

* * *

This is the Tiger Dojo. Take the advice?

Note. Tiger Dojo is a strange hint corner. If you would like to finish the story by yourself, or if you would like to keep the characters' images, please be warned.

1\. Yes

2\. No

* * *

**Tiger Dojo**

Taiga clapped her hands together and said, "Yosh! Long time no see, Reader-san!"

"Hi!" Ilya waved, a small smile on her face.

"Now that the main story's over and that Wizard's gotten the scene list for this story sorted out a bit, we're back on track! Yosh!"

"Yeah!" Ilya pumped a fist into the air. "The fun part's going to start now! War! Battles! Noble Phantasms getting thrown left and right-!"

"No, Ilya!" Taiga frantically clamped her hand over Ilya's mouth. "You're not supposed to mention that yet! It hasn't been finalized, remember?"

"Mmph, mmph!"

Taiga let out a sheepish smile. "A-anyway! Reader-san, what did you think about the big reveal?"

"Hah." Ilya broke out of Taiga's hold and glared at her. "Big reveal? All that happened was some more backstory and boooring stuff. When is the plot going to get back on track already? I want to see Onii-chan cut apart some more bad guys!"

"Yes, yes. We're getting there, my darling pupil. And it's already begun. The major players were all revealed by this chapter, weren't they?"

"You mean that fake priest, weird king, pitiful Pope and mad god wannabe?"

"Er... yes. Them."

Ilya yawned. "Booring. We've got a cliché bad guy who wants the world to burn and a crazy bad guy who has nothing to lose. What are they gonna do, kill off the main cast?"

"..."

"Wait- don't tell me that he's going to-"

"Hahaha, of course he isn't. Right, Wizard? You wouldn't do that now, would you? ...Hey, answer me!"

"...W-well, I'm sure he won't do that, Sensei. Just because they haven't gotten much screen time doesn't mean he's just going to use them as convenient plot devices, right?"

"...We can only hope. A-anyway, what's this about a Holy Grail, Ilya-chan? As the Einzbern's grail, you should know about it, right?"

Ilya glared at Taiga. "Ex-grail, I'll have you know! Onii-chan fixed me up after the war ended, you know?"

"...You mean a wizard fixed you-"

"ANYWAY!" Ilya pulled out a whiteboard and began writing. "As Reader-san should know, the Grail in our world was built to hold heroic spirits. It was meant to be used as a way to reach the Akashic records and recreate Heaven's Feel, which the Einzbern lost during the creation of it. Using the souls of seven heroic spirits, the grail would obtain enough power to basically brute force a miracle."

Taiga shook her head, eyes glazed. "Too much... technical information..."

"The one here in Halkeginia is similar, but instead of using the souls of heroic spirits, it was designed to use the souls of regular people, or of the Heart of God, Lifthrasir."

"Hold on. Isn't that what Emiya is right now?"

"Mhm. But that's not important. The main purpose of the grail here is to accommodate the summoning ritual and grant classes for the four void familiars. While it can be filled by using human souls, the fastest way to fill it is through the use of void magic, or through the souls of void mages."

"...Wait," Taiga said. "Why them?"

"Well... Founder Brimir actually succeeded in creating the Grail in his lifetime, as well as fill it. He was killed before he could use it though, and his powers were split among the four royal families, hence the four void users. As a contingency plan, he designed it so that when all four were present once more, the death of them all would instantly fill the Grail through a certain spell, as well as resurrect him. Well, he's already alive now though, so that last part is a bit moot."

There was a moment of silence.

"...Is that it?"

"Mmhm." Ilya flipped through a clipboard. "Looks like that's all we have to say from the Wizard. Anything you want to add, Sensei?"

"Yosh! Reader-san! This is it for this chapter's Tiger Dojo! Though our original purpose has changed, since there are no bad ends in this story, we still wish you the best! Remember that all is not as it seems and the Wizard likes to over think things sometimes as well, so if there are any parts not clear, pester him with a message!"

"Mhm! That's all for now then! Bye bye~!"

**Tiger Dojo end**

* * *

A/N: So it's a bit of character development and foreshadowing. We'll get back on track a bit with canon and some scenes back at the academy with next chapter before war truly breaks out in Tristain. There's still some character development I want to do with the main cast and some canon events I want to incorporate with a bit of a twist before things start spinning completely on its end, so until then, bear with me. I'll do my best to not keep you all waiting another year.

Hopefully this chapter was enjoyable, leave a review with your thoughts if you want to, and I'll see you next time.

Until the next!


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